Hollywood's dreaded test audiences have given many a director an ulcer. These randomly selected audience showings are often used by the studio as a way to guess how an audience might react to the film. These showings can result in last minute edits or a change in promotional plans. If a film tests poorly enough, the studio might just bury it. The studios continue to use test audiences, despite the fact that they aren't very accurate. Many movies that tested poorly have gone on to great success, like Goodfellas:
Or Babe:
And even Cape Fear:
Despite the poor showings at test screenings, all three films not only did well at the box office, they became modern classics.
