IMDb Frequently Asked Questions
Following is a list of questions we get asked so much, we created this page to answer them for you. To save time and effort, please check this page before contacting our help desk.
General Info
- What is IMDb?
- How long has IMDb been around?
- How much does using IMDb cost?
- How/where do you get your information? How accurate/reliable is it?
- How much information do you actually have and how current is it?
- What software/hardware are you using to run the site?
- How do I join the IMDb team?
Registration
- What are the advantages of registering with IMDb.com?
- I gave you my e-mail address but I never received my registration e-mail.
- Why do I get an 'invalid activation code' error message when I click on the link in the activation e-mail?
- When I try to login/register I'm told that I need to enable cookies. What are cookies?
- Every time I try to login I am told my username/password are incorrect. How do I login?
- How do I update my e-mail address?
- Why do I get an error message when I try to update my e-mail address?
- How do I cancel my registration on IMDb.com?
How to find information
- You have so much information! Where should I start?
- I'm looking for a film but I can't remember the title... can you help me?
- Can you put me in touch with this celebrity?
Submitting information to IMDb
- I'm adding data for the first time; what are the top 5 things I should know?
- How do I submit information for a film/actor?
- Can I submit data for an unreleased/unfinished film?
- How long does it take for new data to be added? What happened to my update?
- I submitted several credits for a film/person. Why did you add only some of them?
- How can I add a new episode to a TV series?
- I added a new title that has just gone live; where is the rest of the data submitted along with it?
- I made a mistake with a submission. How can I correct it before it goes live?
- I know for a fact that the John Smith who worked on film X is not the same John Smith who worked on film Y. Can I delete the incorrect credits?
- How do I split credits that belong to two different persons but are combined into a single listing?
- It's clear that John Smith and John I. Smith are likely to be the same person. Why do you have two listings for him?
- I am positive that John Smith and John I. Smith are the same person. How do I combine their listings?
- How do I add my film reviews to the site?
Updating your own credits
- Can I add my credits to IMDb?
- How do I add myself to the database?
- How do I add more credits to my page?
- What kind of credits are eligible for inclusion in the database?
- Can I add a new film or TV show to IMDb?
- How do I add my new film?
- How do I add a project that's still in production/development?
- What kind of titles are eligible to be listed in the database?
- How can I provide additional web-based evidence of the eligibility of a new title?
- How long does it take for new credits/data to appear on the site?
- Why is it so hard/time-consuming to add a credit or film to the database?
- Some of the credits you list in my filmography are wrong. How do I delete them?
- You spelled a title wrong! How do I get it fixed?
- You spelled my name wrong. How do I fix this?
- My credits are scattered over different names, but it's always me. How do I fix this?
- How do I change the order in which my credits are listed?
- Why does one of my credits now say that I worked on a film only during post-production? I worked on that film the whole time!
- How can I delete my bio from your site?
- I tried to change the mini bio that shows up on my face and nothing appears when I select the 'Edit' option. Why?
- I worked on the supplemental materials for the DVD of film XYZ. Can I add my credit to the film?
Questions about our data
- How are titles formatted? How do you choose the year shown in the title?
- Why am I seeing titles in a different language than before?
- How do you decide if a title is a film, a TV movie or a Miniseries?
- What's the deal with those Roman numerals, like (I) and (II), after people's names?
- Some films have '(V)' or '(VG)' after the title. What does that mean?
- When I search for a person, each matching name on the results page has a title next to it. How is that title chosen?
- In the Movie Connections section, what does 'references' mean?
- What is the difference between "Screenplay" and "Written by" credits?
- I know for a fact that there is only one John Smith registered with the Screen Actors Guild, so all the other ones listed in the database must be wrong. How do I delete them?
- I spotted a mistake: you have the film Bottle Rocket listed twice. Why won't you correct it?
- You claim that Julianne Moore appeared in "As the World Turns" in (1956) but she was born in 1961 so how can this be correct?
- Why is the USA running time listed for a film sometimes different from the running time listed for another country and/or for the video?
- Why don't you always list the stars of a film at the top of its cast listing?
- Why do some acting credits show up in a separate list under a category called "Himself" or "Herself" even if those people didn't actually appear as themselves?
- What's the meaning of those codes (like [se] or [hr]) that sometimes follow the name of a production company or distributor?
Linking and Using IMDb data
- Can I use your filmography data in a book/website/magazine then?
- Can I use your filmography data in my free software ?
- Do I need your permission to put a link to your site on my webpage or link to your filmographies?
- How should I link to IMDb pages?
Photos, posters, galleries
- How do I add a photo to IMDb?
- How do I remove a photo from IMDb?
- How do I report a photo related issue to IMDb?
- As a production/distribution company, how do I add/update posters and images for all of my titles?
- May I use a photo from your site for my web site or publication?
- May I buy photos from your site for my own personal use?
Uploading videos
- How do I upload a video to your site?
- As a production/distribution company, how do I add/update trailers and videos for all of my titles?
- Can I appeal if IMDb takes down my video?
Watching videos on IMDb
User reviews and ratings
- The vote average for film "X" should be Y! Why are you displaying another rating?
- The user votes average on film X is 9.4, so it should appear in your top 250 films listing, yet it doesn't. Why?
- Who are the Top 1000 voters? How do I know if I'm one of them?
- The reviews displayed on the page for film X is so negative! Can't you remove it?
- Why didn't you post my user review for movie X?
- How do I edit or remove a review?
- What are 'spoilers'?
- How do I delete/change a vote I cast on a film?
- Is there a way to see all my past votes?
- What is the "IMDb Staff" category displayed in some vote breakdowns?
Box Office
- How do I find out how much a movie made at the box office?
- Do you have a list of all-time top grossing movies?
- Where does your box-office information come from?
- Where do you get your budget numbers and what do they mean?
- Why are your budget/gross figures for some movies different than those listed by another source? Why do you have budget/gross data on some movies and not others?
- Do your box-office figures also include video sales/rentals?
- What's the meaning of the date next to the box-office figures?
- Some of your box-office pages include figures for theatrical rentals. What are those?
Lists
Miscellaneous questions
- Why do you list Chow Yun-Fat's name as Yun-Fat Chow?
- Every time I search for a quote, I get hundreds of matches but not the exact phrase I was looking for. Why?
- Why do I keep getting titles of adult movies when I perform a search?
- Why it is that, occasionally, well-known actors have significant roles in movies but are not listed in the credits?
- The ads on your site are really annoying. Can't you get rid of them?
- When I was visiting your site, my antivirus detected a virus/trojan/worm. What is going on?
- How do I break into show business?
Contacting us
- I have a problem/question for you. How do I get in touch? What's your phone number?
- I sent you a message but haven't heard back from you.
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