You mean ratings can help or hinder at the box office? Not Nielsen--we're talking a PG-13 movie, Ouija, that darts to the top of the charts, debuting at $20 million and blowing past Fury and Gone Girl. Well, it's not all in the rating; it's also timing. Sure, many-a-salivating teenager wants a horror movie in the theater; it's a date movie, a group-of-friends movie, and scored the whopping 4.2 on the IMDB scale. So, yeah, there are lapses in the public's judgments. We don't want, or can't really handle, a Gone Girl every weekend, which, by the way, is still strong with a US take of $124 million total. Ratings and timing are key, and then there's the trailer for Birdman which is remembered by anyone who's seen it and has originality, integrity, and authenticity, all of which lead to universal appeal, written all over it. It probably won't pull big numbers, but will be seen and remembered. That we can only probably say for a handful of those who see Ouija.
