The Brewing Battle Between Film Critics and Influencers

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As the summer movie season heated up with splashy red carpets, film critics set Twitter abuzz with complaints about the arrival of social media influencers at the premieres of “Barbie” and Disney’s “Haunted Mansion.”

The actors’ strike has amped up the controversy, with studios looking to find ways to bring excitement to events without stars. But the smartphone-wielding video creators also play into worries about the movie audience’s shifting media habits, as traditional reviews make way for short TikTok clips that play off film soundtracks and outfits.

It’s “weird” to see “influencers do red carpet interviews instead of journalists who have been on their grind for years and years and aren’t allowed the same opportunity,” tweeted independent film critic Shannon McGrew.

But the line between film critics and influencers has gotten blurrier. From a studio’s perspective, it’s using both groups to promote a film. Critics provide a stamp of journalistic legitimacy on a project, while influencers parlay their personal brand to put a movie on their followers’ radar.

“It seems like there’s more value put on what [influencers] have,” said film critic Kathia Woods.

But influencers who spoke to TheWrap seemed surprised that critics are wary of them.

A critic concerned about an influencer taking their job has “the opportunity to get on TikTok and they should take advantage of it,” Maddi Koch, an influencer with three million followers on TikTok, told TheWrap.

Studios and agencies keep their invite lists close to the vest, so it’s difficult to put numbers on the trend, but those who regularly attend industry events agreed the presence of influencers has increased in recent months. Agencies and studios didn’t respond to TheWrap’s questions about how they determine which influencers to invite.

Koch said she had gotten invited to Netflix and Universal premieres based on people having seen and liked her content online. But Jax Hillard — talent manager for Kreative Media Partners and a specialist in influencer management, says studios are very data-driven when inviting those connected to social media. He said studios are digging into not just raw follower counts but engagement and evidence that an influencer can get their audience talking about a movie and drive them to theaters.

“What we typically call influencers are those people who tend to be more persuasive because we consider them people like us,” said Marcus Collins, brand analyst and author of “For the Culture.”

“The point of an influencer is you want to be their friend,” said Loren Lott, an influencer and actress with 338,000 followers on Instagram. The desired reaction, she said, was, “They’re at ‘Barbie.’ Dang, I wish I was there. Now I’m gonna go and see ‘Barbie.’”

Even film critics who feel displaced understand why studios are catering to these internet content creators.

“They’re basically press you can control,” said Dino-Ray Ramos, a film critic and founder of the site Diaspora.

Just as critics are invited to events and given early access to films to write a review, content creators are doing the same thing, said Hillard.

Content creators interviewed by TheWrap said they don’t have formalized deals with those who invite them to film events to post anything, though they understand that’s an unspoken request.

“It’s a beneficial thing,” said Koch. “You’re inviting me, I’m gonna make a video for you… I am not a sugar-coater, but I will try to be as nice as possible.”

“They’re not expecting influencers to express negative opinions,” said independent film critic Carlos Aguilar.

Prestige versus popularity

Influencers showed up at press screenings for “Barbie,” while numerous critics said they struggled to get an opportunity to see the film to write reviews.

“I don’t think they’re supplanting critics,” said Aguilar. “But I feel like it is a safer bet for the studios to want them there, as opposed to critics, because a critic can go to premiere or a screening and you’re not in any way required to be positive about anything that they show you.”

Some influencers see themselves as content creators who have practiced their craft and studied film editing and marketing. This largely younger group — mostly Millennials and Gen Zers — see room for everyone in the world of film discussion and would like to see critics change with the times.

“The media industry is really collapsed and consolidated,” said Leigh Stine, cultural critic and the author of “Self Care.” “We aren’t consuming legacy media the same way we once did.”

Stine pointed to a popular TikTok video of 65-year-old “New Yorker” film critic Richard Brody detailing his favorite movies of the year.

“For these legacy media outlets, in order to survive, they’re going to have to find a way to transport their content for a younger audience,” said Stine.

Others note that critics still have a hold on the industry.

“When I drive down Fairfax in Hollywood, I know all of those billboards you see are only quotes from critics,” said content creator Nicky Reardon. “They want an influencer to go to a red carpet because they want them to post about it. But they want critics to see the movie because they want the prestige of [established publications].”

Critics or promoters?

It’s hard not to see this conflict as a divide between Gen Z, which has fostered the creator movement, and critics from older generations.

“When do you really ever hear about movie critics anymore?” said Koch.

“If they want to continue with innovation, just get online more,” she added. “It doesn’t mean that critics will be gone. You can just create your presence in a different way, mold yourself in a different way online.”

But some critics say that limiting criticism to digital media limits audience access and excludes some older film lovers who don’t live their lives extremely online.

“Because the culture has changed, we should no longer value that consumer of movies?” asked Woods, the film critic. “We should say, ‘Hey, I know you may like to read your reviews in a newspaper or in a trade, you now have to watch a YouTube video.’ That’s not fair either.”

For the most part, though, influencers were optimistic about the future, seeing a mutual love of movies fostering a diversity of opinions and broadening the set of people who are allowed to talk about films.

“An increased diversity of opinion is not a bad thing,” said Reardon. “You [critics] can be creators, too!”

Loree Seitz contributed to this report.

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