Jonah Berger
Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

What Makes Movies Popular? The Role of Emotional Arcs

Why do some cultural items (e.g., movies and songs) succeed while others fail? 
While some have argued that success is random, we suggest that fit with
individual-level psychological processes plays an important role.  Using
sentiment analysis, we plot the emotional trajectories of thousands of movies,
examining the link between emotional volatility (i.e., short-term shifts in
emotion) and popular reception.  Results indicate that more emotionally variable
movies receive higher ratings, and this relationship is stronger in genres where
uncertainty and surprise should be more desirable (e.g., thrillers and
mysteries). These findings shed light on cultural dynamics, why things become
popular, and the psychological foundations of culture more broadly.