Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films, individually and collectively. In general, this can be divided into journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, and other popular, mass-media outlets and academic criticism by film scholars that is informed by film theory and published in journals. Film critics working for newspapers, magazines, broadcast media, and online publications, mainly review new releases.

Normally they only see any given film once and have only a day or two to formulate opinions.[citation needed] Despite this, critics have an important impact on films, especially those of certain genres. The popularity of mass-marketed action, horror, and comedy films tend not to be greatly affected by a critic's overall judgment of a film. The plot summary and description of a film that makes up the majority of any film review can have an important impact on whether people decide to see a film.

For prestige films with a limited release, such as independent dramas, the influence of reviews is extremely important. Poor reviews will often doom a film to obscurity and financial loss. The impact of reviews on a film's box office performance and DVD rentals/sales is a matter of debate.

Some claim movie marketing is so intense and well financed that reviewers cannot make an impact against it. However, the failure of some heavily-promoted movies (such as Alexander) that were harshly reviewed, as well as the unexpected success of critically praised independent movies (such as Pulp Fiction) indicates that extreme critical reactions can have considerable influence. Others note positive film reviews have been shown to spark interest in little-known films.

Major box-office analysis websites like Box Office Prophets and Box Office Guru regularly factor in general film review opinions in their projections of a film's earnings.

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