How film tobacco scores are calculated

Scores for media companies, producers, director, writers, film editors and actors are based on "top-grossing" films. To be a "top-grossing" film, the film had to be in the Top 10 box office ranking for at least one week. This definition captures about 95% of ticket sales, so this sample represents the films in theatrical release that people see the most.

The scores do not include films that went direct to video without being exhibited in theaters (or were in theaters and did not reach Top 10 status).  The scores also do not include episodic video productions.

PRODUCERS, DIRECTORS, WRITERS OR FILM EDITORS

Who qualifies | The person is credited with at least one top-grossing, non-documentary film in the time period and rating class of interest.

Scoring | Factors include the amount of smoking in the person's films, the exposure moviegoers received, and on-screen display of tobacco brands. Tied scores are in alphabetical order.

Score = ((Total tobacco incidents + (Total tobacco impressions / 10 million)) * (1 + (0.25 * Number of films with tobacco brands))

Ranking tables also display:

  • How many qualifying the films the person produced, directed, wrote or edited
  • How many of these films featured tobacco imagery
  • How many displayed actual tobacco brands (may be more than one brand per film)

ACTORS

Who qualifies | The actor is credited and smokes in at least one top-grossing, non-documentary film in the time period and rating class of interest.

Scoring | Factors include the number of domestic moviegoers who viewed the actor smoking on screen and in how many films the actor handled an actual tobacco brand. Tied scores are in alphabetical order.

Score = ((Views for all qualifying films in which actor smoked * 1) + (Views for all qualifying films in which actor smoked an identified brand * 1.5)) / 1 million 

Ranking tables also display:

  • How many times the film was viewed in domestic theaters (millions)
  • How many tobacco brands the actor smoked on screen (may be more than one brand per film)

 

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PRODUCERS, DIRECTORS, WRITERS, FILM EDITORS

Qualification | The person is credited for at least one top-grossing, non-documentary feature film in the specified time period and MPAA rating class.

Scoring | A person's score depends on three factors: (1) the number of tobacco incidents in the person’s films, if any; (2) how many domestic moviegoers were exposed to these tobacco incidents; and (3) the number of the person's films displaying tobacco brands. Members of a production team working on the same films earn the same score.

Score = (Total tobacco incidents + (Total tobacco impressions / 10 million)) x (1 + (0.25 x Number of films with tobacco brands))

Example | Score = (125 tobacco incidents + (88,777,665 tobacco impressions / 10 million)) x (1 + (0.25 x 2 films with tobacco brands)) = 201

Tables also display

• How many films the person is credited with

• How many of these films featured tobacco imagery

• How many of these films displayed tobacco brands

SMOKEFREE PRODUCERS AND DIRECTORS

Qualification | All of the credited producer or director's top-grossing films were smokefree (no tobacco imagery or references) in the specified time period and MPAA rating class.

Scoring | A person's ranking depends on the number of smokefree films credited. Within rankings, the producer or director is listed alphabetically.

Tables also display

• How many smokefree films the person is credited with

• Sum total of domestic box office for the credited films

ACTORS

Qualification | The actor is credited for at least two top-grossing, non-documentary feature films in the specified time period and MPAA rating class.

Scoring | Actors are listed in the database only if they used a tobacco product (or facsimile) on-screen. Unlike others on the production team, an actor is not accountable for all tobacco presence in a film. For these reasons, actors' scores are assessed differently than scores for producers, directors, writers and film editors.

Score = (Number of actor's films x 10) + (Number of films in which actor used one or more actual tobacco brands x 15) + (Sum of paid admissions to films associated with actor / 1 million)

Example | Score = (Smoked in 3 films x 10) + (Used brand in 1 film x 15) + (41.2 million domestic moviegoers saw the films / 1 million) = 86

Tables also display

• How many films the actor has smoked in

• How many films showed the actor using a tobacco brand

• How many people saw these films on domestic theater screens