Re-architecting the Movie Detail Page for Engagement

Context

By early 2023, the Movie Detail Page was one of the highest-traffic surfaces in the Rotten Tomatoes ecosystem, but it consistently underperformed in engagement. Users frequently landed on the page, consumed a small amount of information, and exited without taking any meaningful action.

Leadership identified a clear issue: the page functioned more as a static reference than an interactive decision-making surface. The goal was not to add visual flair, but to fundamentally change how quickly users understood what they could do on the page.

Problem

The primary challenge was passive consumption:

• Limited interaction opportunities above the fold
• Too much emphasis on static information hierarchy
• Content that did not adapt to where a movie was in its release lifecycle

As a result, users often bounced before engaging with trailers, ticketing, streaming options, or reviews — all core value drivers for the product and business.

Project Overview

Strategic Framing

Rather than approaching this as a traditional UI refresh, I framed the work around two strategic principles:

This framing helped align design decisions with leadership goals around engagement, retention, and downstream conversion.

Design Approach

Increasing Clickable Density Above the Fold

The most intentional change was increasing the number of meaningful, tappable elements visible immediately on page load. This included:

• Prominent action buttons (Trailer, Stream, Tickets, Watchlist)
• Immediate surfacing of both critic and audience ratings
• Sticky and collapsible headers that preserved actions during scroll
• Clear visual affordances that signaled interactivity

The objective was not visual density for its own sake, but to create a sense of momentum — users should feel there is something worth engaging with before they scroll.

Lifecycle-Aware Content Below the Fold

Below the fold, content was reorganized around a movie's lifecycle rather than a static template, and intentionally designed as modular, CMS-driven sections.

Instead of hard-coding a fixed page structure, I worked to define discrete content modules (e.g., Where to Watch, Trailers, Movie Details, Reviews) that could be independently surfaced, reordered, or suppressed via our CMS.

• Pre-release: Synopsis, trailers, cast, and anticipation-focused content
• Theatrical window: Ticketing, showtimes, early critic sentiment
• Post-release: Reviews, audience ratings, streaming availability

For example, reviews were intentionally suppressed before a movie premiered, while post-release users were immediately guided toward evaluation and participation. Streaming and ticketing modules could be activated or updated without design changes as availability shifted.

This modular approach allowed editorial and product teams to keep the page fresh and contextually relevant over time, while preserving a consistent visual and interaction framework. As a result, the page felt current, intentional, and aligned with user expectations at each stage.

Progressive Disclosure Through Scroll

Scroll behavior became an active design tool rather than a passive one.

As users scrolled:

• Headers collapsed to preserve context without redundancy
• Primary actions updated based on likely intent (e.g., Trailer → Stream Now)
• Navigation elements became persistent once engagement was established

This created a sense of continuity, where the interface adapted as users moved deeper into the page.

Outcome

The redesigned Movie Detail Page directly addressed leadership's core concern: converting passive views into active sessions.

Key outcomes included:

• Higher interaction density without overwhelming users
• Faster clarity around what actions were available
• A page structure that reflected real-world movie lifecycles
• A reusable pattern for future lifecycle-driven surfaces

More broadly, the work demonstrated how UI design can encode strategy — translating abstract goals like reducing bounce into concrete, scalable design decisions.

Reflection

With additional time and instrumentation, the next evolution would include deeper experimentation around above-the-fold action prioritization and lifecycle-based personalization. However, this project established a strong foundation for treating high-traffic pages as adaptive, intent-driven experiences rather than static destinations.