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What does the patent behind Netflix’s acquisition of Ben Affleck’s AI company actually do?
I read all 68 pages of the patent behind Ben Affleck’s stealth AI start-up that Netflix just bought in order to understand exactly how the system works…
14 mins ago
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Stephen Follows
11
Are movies becoming more simplistic?
A reader, Peter, got in touch to ask:
Mar 6
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Stephen Follows
29
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What do movies get wrong most often?
I analysed over 200,000 errors across 11,842 films released between 1930 and 2025, to understand where and how audiences say movies gets facts, physics…
Mar 2
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Stephen Follows
33
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February 2026
How one-star and ten-star votes break IMDb's user score
A deep dive into IMDb’s 1-star and 10-star extremes, analysing time trends, genres, countries, demographics and the people who seem to benefit most from…
Feb 26
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Stephen Follows
26
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You’re right about woke movies… and also wrong
A new video from me, under The Film Data Scientist banner, examining the claim that "Go woke, go broke" applies to movies.
Feb 24
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Stephen Follows
15
1
Risk mitigation and casual nihilism were the main themes at the 2026 European Film Market
Despite the clement weather, everyone feels like they are on thin ice in Berlin (with cold hearts).
Feb 16
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Stephen Follows
26
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1
My YouTube channel is live!
After waiting almost exactly 21 years after launch to see how it worked out, I think it's time I join this thing called YouTube.
Feb 9
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Stephen Follows
35
4
What Berlin’s market programme says about the film industry in 2026
I reviewed 20 years of EFM sessions to understand the industry’s recurring discussions and to see what 2026 has in store. Plus, I look at whether the…
Feb 6
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Stephen Follows
17
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Does the timing of reviews predict whether a film is any good?
I tracked the timing of 175,902 critic reviews across 10,766 films to see what it signals before the opening weekend.
Feb 4
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Stephen Follows
29
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What makes people never want to rewatch a great film?
Looking at the data behind which films appear on user-generated lists of 'Movies which are awesome, but I don't ever want to watch again' reveals what…
Feb 2
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Stephen Follows
41
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January 2026
A bigger market is emerging for independent films worldwide
Audience habits, localisation workflows, and global rights deals are moving in the same direction, and the combined effect is larger than most people…
Jan 29
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Stephen Follows
33
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5
Do famous actors earn more on Cameo than less famous ones?
An unnecessarily deep dive into the world of actors on Cameo. Who’s joining, what they charge, when they work, how fans respond, and which familiar…
Jan 26
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Stephen Follows
21
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