The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes is no longer allowing the public to post reviews of a movie prior to its theatrical release. The move is partly to push back against the influence of online trolls.
The company said in a blog post Tuesday that it would be launching the first of several phases of updates to change the Audience Rating system. As a part of the first phase of changes, Rotten Tomatoes will no longer include the "Want to See" score of a movie before it is released.
The Rotten Tomatoes staff said they were concerned that users were confusing the "Want to See" score with the "Audience Score," percentage, which shows the percentage of all users who have rated the movie positively after it is released.
Users will also no longer be able to leave comments on a film before its release.
Unfortunately, we have seen an uptick in non-constructive input, sometimes bordering on trolling, which we believe is a disservice to our general readership," the company said in a statement. "We have decided that turning off this feature for now is the best course of action."
The decision comes shortly before Marvel's 'Captain Marvel' is set to be released. The film is the latest to receive a wave of negative comments on Rotten Tomatoes from people who have yet to see the film. People slammed the female superhero film for the movie's alleged 'feminist agenda' and worked together to bring the film's "Want to See" score down.
This function will now only be open once a movie hits theaters. Eventually, Rotten Tomatoes says audience reviews will be synched up with verified ticket purchases.