Rotten Tomatoes tweaks audience ratings system to thwart online trolls

Walt Disney Co.'s "Captain Marvel" is expected to open with a spectacular $100 million in ticket sales from the U.S. and Canada alone next month. And yet, according to the highly influential website Rotten Tomatoes, only 28% of moviegoers are interested in seeing Marvel Studios' first superhero film with a solo female lead. Blame online trolls, who have previously waged campaigns to lower audience ratings for movies including "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" and "Ghostbusters" by flooding their pages with negative, sometimes sexist comments. Such "review bombing" efforts are a serious problem for Rotten Tomatoes, which depends on credible ratings to drive traffic to its free website. The company, owned by the largest online movie ticket seller, Fandango, now has a plan to curb the abuse.