New Measure

At a recent film (okay, Batman Begins), I was handed an audience reaction tearaway card by the good people at CinemaScore.

They asked my sex and age, my grade for the film, and my reasons for attending--same as always. But in the past, they'd asked if I'd recommend the film. Now, they ask if I would buy or rent the film.

This hardly seems the same thing. If I like a film, I will recommend it, but I probably won't buy or rent it. Or do they mean would I buy or rent it if I hadn't seen it already? Even then it's not the same thing.

Who decided this new question was better?

Columbus Guy says: What's the problem? If studios care whether someone likes the film, it's only because that's a proxy for what they really care about, will this film make money? If they've decided to cut to the chase, good for them. In fact, it seems a superior question, since now they're saying they'd put some money on the line (of course, people are always saying they'll put money on the line when they won't, but that's another version of the problem).