Why IMDb ratings matter for movies and web series

When we were kids and used to rent cassettes to watch movies on VCRs, we never needed to ask anyone how a particular movie was. The reason was simple—back then, we watched only a handful of movies, and the ones we did watch were already well-known in the market. Songs from the movies would be playing in audio-video shops on street corners, and the storylines would spread through word of mouth. Needless to say, most of the movies we watched were Hindi films. Even the occasional Hollywood action flicks were familiar. So, there wasn’t much hassle in choosing a movie based on someone’s recommendation.

When CDs arrived, the situation remained somewhat the same. However, by then, we had to ask a few friends about their thoughts on movies, as Bangladesh started importing films from around the world. Alongside Hollywood and Bollywood, films from Europe, Iran, Thailand, China, and South Korea also started making their way to us. But it wasn’t easy to judge a movie just by its cover, even though many CD cases came with a brief summary. Still, how much could you understand from reading or glancing at these? In most cases, we relied on the opinions of our friends.

Now, in the age of the internet and countless OTT platforms at our fingertips, you can no longer rely solely on the opinions of friends or acquaintances to decide what movie or web series to watch. There are just too many movies and series out there, and you can’t possibly keep track of who has seen what! Just logging into Netflix alone can overwhelm you. With thousands of films and series in their catalog, how do you decide which one to watch? You might know a few from newspapers or social media, but for most of them, you'll remain in the dark. So, what should you do?

These days, the easiest way is to check IMDb (Internet Movie Database) ratings. Not only ratings, but you can also get information about the movie's writer, director, cast, and crew. Even if you’re not familiar with them, you can find out how they’re regarded in their country or globally.

IMDb is the world’s most popular movie-related website and the largest online movie database. It provides information on all the famous movies, TV series, podcasts, video games, and streaming content. The IMDb ratings are not arbitrarily assigned but are based on audience votes. Viewers can rate any content on a scale of 1 to 10, and the final rating is an average of all these votes.

For example, the movie currently ranked number one on IMDb is The Shawshank Redemption. It has held this top spot for 12 years. Directed by Frank Darabont, this famous movie is a story about escaping from prison. The IMDb rating for this film is 9.3/10. If you want to see the details of how this rating is calculated, you can search for the movie on IMDb. The film received a perfect 10 rating from 54.9% of the 1.6 million people who rated it. Another 25.8% (759,000 people) gave it a 9/10.

On the other hand, a small group—just 43,000 viewers—gave it a rating of 1/10, which accounts for 1.5% of the total votes. Thus, the overall average rating came out to 9.3. These ratings can change week by week. You can also log in to give your own rating. Some other world-renowned movies with high IMDb ratings include The Godfather, The Dark Knight, and 12 Angry Men.

Though IMDb wasn’t well-known among Bangladeshi audiences in the past, it has become very popular now. Many Bangladeshi films are also listed on the site, and after their release, thousands of fans engage in discussions and debates about them. Fans even rate their favorite Bangladeshi films. The Bangladeshi film with the most votes on IMDb is Aynabaji, directed by Amitabh Reza.

Anyway, that’s a lot of information. If you want to know more about IMDb, you can explore the website yourself. But here’s some basic information: IMDb started in 1990 as a fan-operated movie database. Since 1998, it has operated as a subsidiary of Amazon. As of March 2022, IMDb has published information on approximately 10.1 million titles and about 11.5 million individuals involved in film and TV production. The website currently has around 83 million users.

Registered IMDb users can vote on released movies or other content, with ratings ranging from 1 to 10. The cumulative result of these votes is displayed as the IMDb rating. Generally, content with a rating of 7 or above is considered good, though this can vary by genre. For example, thriller-action films rated 8 or higher are usually regarded as great, while some action films with lower ratings may still be fan favorites due to their storyline or screenplay.

Romantic, comedy, and coming-of-age dramas, as well as critically acclaimed slow-paced films, may receive high ratings from certain users based on personal preferences, but in most cases, they fail to gain widespread popularity. According to information based on individual opinions, many viewers prioritize IMDb ratings as the most important factor when deciding to watch a movie or select one based on public opinion. However, some viewers prefer not to rely on ratings and instead choose movies based on teasers or trailers. Similarly, the popularity of films featuring favorite stars or belonging to popular franchises does not necessarily depend on ratings.

Moreover, the frequent use of terms like "underrated" or "overrated" suggests that personal preferences often challenge the credibility of ratings. Many people believe that it is not an intellectually sound approach to judge art solely by numbers. Additionally, the emphasis on ratings can sometimes deprive certain content of the chance to gain viewer popularity. It is also noted that the majority of registered IMDb users are male, which leads to a tendency for women-centric or female-directed films to receive lower ratings.

The main reason behind the popularity and credibility of IMDb is its reliable and unbiased rating system. Therefore, in an era of abundant content, proper use of this platform makes it difficult to find an alternative. Nonetheless, in today's global film industry, IMDb ratings remain the simplest way to find a preferred movie or web series.