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Does knowing a movie or game score ruin the experience?

“Not for me, neither would knowing the basketball score or who won I never got why it bothered people, not sure how knowing the results of movies or games would make it not enjoyable”
Partially true
Confidence: High Checked on May 27, 2026

Summary

Many people report being bothered by spoilers, but research consistently finds that knowing the outcome of movies, TV episodes, or even sports results usually does not reduce enjoyment and can sometimes enhance it. However, certain contexts—such as live sports or specific television formats—may still experience a drop in enjoyment when the result is known. Thus, the claim that spoilers never affect enjoyment is only partly correct.

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Sources 60 searched

sciencedirect.com
  • The misforecasted spoiler effect: Underlying mechanism and boundary conditions - ScienceDirect

    The Miami Heat won this game against the San Antonio Spurs to secure the championship. The outcome of sports games is believed to be critical in determining people's enjoyment and therefore this stimulus should be especially prone to the spoiler ...

  • Exploring the spoiler effect in the digital age: Evidence from the movie industry - ScienceDirect

    When consumers read movie reviews, these warning labels will make them aware of the presence of spoilers, and this perception may influence their movie-going decisions [14,51]. In practice, performance is the primary concern of motion picture production and distribution companies. For the movie market, the determining factor for a movie's success is box office revenue. However, previous research on the spoilers effect has primarily focused on the relationship between spoilers and the enjoyment experienced by consumers [19,35,37,42], with the relationship between spoilers and the movie box office revenue receiving scant attention [53]. Moreover, in the age of social media, consumers can access a variety of online information such as movie information, eWOM information, and spoilers.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
bbc.com
universityofcalifornia.edu
scholarscompass.vcu.edu
  • "The Spoiler Effect: How spoilers affect our perceptions of film and TV" by Alex Falls

    Films and TV series are artistic expressions meant to transport the viewer into a world where things outside the realm of possibility happen right in front of their eyes; only in that world, those implausible things make perfect sense. To have such a potentially potent experience spoiled is reprehensible. ... Virginia Commonwealth University. Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program

scholarworks.uark.edu
digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu
theconversation.com

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