Why Oscar Nominations Can Backfire: Insights from Dr. Michelangelo Rossi

Dr. Michelangelo Rossi, Associate Professor of Marketing at HEC Paris, shares key insights from his acclaimed research titled “Quality Disclosures and Disappointment: Evidence from the Academy Nominations.” Dr. Michelangelo Rossi’s research uncovers a counterintuitive insight: prestigious quality signals like Oscar nominations can actually reduce audience satisfaction by inflating expectations beyond what even very good movies can deliver. Motivated by his own experience of feeling underwhelmed by La La Land despite its acclaim, he analyzes millions of ratings from MovieLens and IMDb between 1995 and the pre-COVID period, comparing how similar viewers rate the same films before and after nominations using a recommendation-based matching approach to separate disappointment from simple changes in audience composition. His findings show a clear disappointment effect, especially among less experienced, more casual viewers who rely heavily on awards and external signals, with stronger patterns on IMDb than on the more expert MovieLens community. By combining rigorous quantitative methods with sentiment and emotion analysis of textual reviews, he rules out alternative explanations such as worse viewing conditions or mere “snob” reactions, and highlights the broader implications for streaming platforms, studios, and any business using certifications or badges, where awards act as a double-edged sword, expanding demand while risking lower satisfaction if expectations are not carefully managed. This podcast is brought to you by Global Management Consultancy. For more information, please visit www.globalmanagementconsultancy.com. Disclaimer: A. The background music used in this video is the property of its respective developer and is protected by Copyright. Although it is a free version, Business Talk, Global Management Consultancy and Deepak Bhatt do not hold the rights to this music. B. Dr. Michelangelo Rossi offered thoughtful perspectives from his research, “Quality Disclosures and Disappointment: Evidence from the Academy Nominations”, in his conversation on the Business Talk podcast channel. The uploaded video contains copyrighted material; therefore, any modifications to graphics, music, or the presence of the author or host are strictly prohibited.