Prior to the release of Marvel Studios' Captain Marvel, certain fans took it upon themselves to swarm websites like Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb, posting fake, negative reviews in an attempt to bring the audience score of the female-centric movie down and discourage others from seeing it.
Anger towards the film stemmed from its strong feminist message, and was further fueled by star Brie Larson's call for a more diverse press junket. Despite the aggrieved fans' best efforts, the fake reviews ultimately had no effect on the film, which shattered box-office records left and right.
To promote the movie's home video release, Marvel Studios EVP of Production and Producer Victoria Alonso hosted a Reddit AMA. During the course of the Q&A session, she was asked by a Captain Marvel fan if the negativity aimed toward the film had any sort of effect on the final product.
"First of all I share with you the pride you feel for the film," Alonso answered. "I love this film with all my heart. We were aware that there were people that were not ready or perhaps not welcoming of the film but it never interfered with the story line or our vision of the film. When you make stories that could potentially touch an international audience, there will always be a portion of the audience that does not 100% love it. But we hope they give us a chance and see the film before they finalize their opinions. There is something for everyone in our films, even if you're a little reluctant to watch."
Captain Marvel was not the first film to fall subject to a negative review campaign. 2017's Black Panther received similar treatment, as did Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
In the wake of the anti-Captain Marvel campaign, review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes introduced a new feature designed to prevent further films from getting review-bombed: a "Verified Ratings and Reviews" that confirms a reviers has actually seen the film.
Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, Captain Marvel stars Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Jude Law as Yon-Rogg, Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson, Lee Pace as Ronan the Accuser, Djimon Hounsou as Korath the Pursuer, Gemma Chan as Minn-Erva, Ben Mendelsohn as Talos, Lashana Lynch as Maria Rambeau, Algenis Perez Soto as Att-Lass, McKenna Grace as a young Carol Danvers and Annette Bening as the Supreme Intelligence. The film is now available on Digital HD, and it arrives on Blu-ray and 4K UHD on June 11.