IMDb Reworks Rating Scores After ‘The Little Mermaid’ Gets Review-Bombed

Disney’s latest live-action remake, The Little Mermaid, has stood at the center of hateful comments over actress and singer Halle Bailey leading as Ariel.
 
The movie opened on May 26 weekend, and critics on a smear campaign to tarnish the movie’s name have taken to the internet to have their voices heard.
 
One such manner in which they are doing so is by review-bombing the movie on IMDb. It is currently ranked a seven out of 10 after 33,000 reviews were put in place. Out of that number, 13,000 gave it a one-star rating.
 
And so far, the attempt to defame the movie is working a little too well, as the influx of one-star reviews on the film has gotten so out of hand the movie review site had to step in and change the way its rating system.
 
A banner sits at the top of its page, notifying viewers of unusual activity detected. “To preserve the reliability of our rating system, an alternate weighting calculation has been applied,” the notice stated. And, to further safeguard the alternative method, IMDb has not disclosed how it will work.
 
It is probable that bots are responsible for the low score. This is a common tactic used by groups who either want a film to do well or fail, and they will go to great lengths to influence its score.
 
Most of those who are protesting against the movie are upset about Bailey’s casting and believe that a more suitable actress should have been chosen to play Ariel.
 
 
 
[via Gizmodo and Fortune, cover image via Walt Disney Studios]