How to pick a movie as a group
Updated 20 October 2026
The fastest fair way for a group to pick a movie is approval voting: make a shortlist of three to six films, let everyone tick every one they would happily watch, and play the film with the most ticks. It avoids the usual failure of one-vote polls, where two similar films split their fans and a film most people did not want wins.
We make Nocturna, an app for exactly this: a shared pool of films for your group, a poll for each night and RSVPs. Everything below works without it too.
Why do one-vote polls pick the wrong film?
Take seven friends and three films: two thrillers, Heat and Zodiac, and a comedy, Some Like It Hot. Four people want a thriller and would be happy with either; three want the comedy.
| Film | One vote each | Approval (tick all you would watch) |
|---|---|---|
| Heat | 2 | 6 |
| Zodiac | 2 | 5 |
| Some Like It Hot | 3 | 4 |
With one vote each, the thriller fans split two and two, and the comedy wins with three of seven votes, although four people preferred something else. With approval voting the four thriller fans tick both thrillers (one of them ticks the comedy too), two comedy fans also tick Heat and one ticks Zodiac. Heat wins: six of the seven are happy with it.
How do you run approval voting for a movie night?
- Keep one shared list of films the group wants to see, and let anyone add to it at any time.
- Before each night, pick a shortlist of three to six films from the list. Leave out films most people have seen recently.
- Everyone ticks every film on the shortlist they would happily watch. Ticking all of them is allowed; ticking none is a sign the shortlist is wrong.
- Close the poll a day or two before. Most ticks wins; the host breaks a tie.
- Put the films that lost back on the list. They keep their place for next time.
How does approval voting compare with other ways to choose?
| Method | How it works | Good at | Weak at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approval voting | Tick every film you would watch; most ticks wins | Finds the film the most people are happy with; takes a minute | Does not show how much someone loves a film |
| One vote each | Everyone picks one film; most votes wins | Familiar, every chat app has it | Similar films split their fans (see above) |
| Ranked choice | Everyone ranks the films; last place is dropped until one has a majority | Fair with many films | Slow to vote, hard to count by hand |
| Take turns | One person picks each night, in rotation | No voting at all, everyone gets a turn | Some nights most of the group is not keen |
| Random from the list | Draw a film from the shared list | Instant, settles arguments | Can land on a film half the group dislikes |
| Veto rounds | Each person removes one film until one is left | Nobody watches a film they hate | Slow with big groups, ends on the least disliked film |
How many films should be on the shortlist?
Three to six. Two is a coin toss, and past about eight people stop reading the options and tick the first ones they recognise. If the list is long, let the host pick the shortlist, or take the films with the most interest since the last night.
What about people who have already seen the film?
Ask everyone to tick a film they have seen only if they would happily watch it again. A favourite seen twice is a fine pick; a film someone saw last week usually is not.
Questions
What is approval voting?
Approval voting is a voting method where each person can vote for as many options as they like, and the option with the most votes wins. For a movie night it means ticking every film you would happily watch.
Is ranked choice better than approval voting for picking a movie?
Not for a small group. Ranked choice is fair but slower to vote and to count; with three to six films and a handful of friends, approval voting usually picks the same film in a fraction of the time.
How do you break a tie between two films?
The simplest rule is that the host decides. Another is to pick the film that has been on the list longer.
Which app does approval voting for movie nights?
Nocturna does: each night has a poll where everyone ticks every film they would watch, the most ticks wins and the host breaks ties. We make it, so weigh that.
Plan your next movie night on Nocturna: a shared pool of films, a poll for each night, and who is coming. Free on the web.
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