Rotten Tomatoes has announced it will no longer allow users to post comments about films before their release, in a bid to curb trolling. The changes, detailed in a blog post, come amid claims that some fans attempted to down-vote the upcoming Marvel film 'Captain Marvel' before its release.
The movie review aggregation site stated that some pre-release comments were 'a disservice to our general readership', citing 'an uptick in non-constructive input, sometimes bordering on trolling'. However, the site assured fans that they would still be able to review films once they are released.
As of 25 February, Rotten Tomatoes will no longer display the 'Want to See' percentage score for a movie during its pre-release period. The site explained that this score was often confused with the 'Audience Score', which will only be shown after a film or TV show is released.
Paul Yanover, president of Fandango, which owns Rotten Tomatoes, told CNET that the changes were part of a long-term site strategy aimed at 'noise reduction' when high-profile films attract trolls with agendas. He denied that the changes were made specifically to protect 'Captain Marvel', the first Marvel film with a female lead in over a decade.
