Official Explanation:The producers of a new movie called
Honeydew have decided to advance the release date of the film from the coming summer to late spring in order to avoid competition from
The Diamond, a movie being released this summer that many believe will be a blockbuster success.
Which of the following will be most useful to investigate for the purpose of evaluating the decision to change the release date of Honeydew? (A) Whether there is much overlap between the moviegoers who are likely to see The Diamond and those who are likely to see Honeydew.(B) Whether the producers of Honeydew have tested the movie with small, paid audiences.(C) Whether The Diamond will be released in the early or late summer.(D) Whether the number of cities in which each movie will be released is about the same.(E) Whether the producers of Honeydew have produced other successful summer movies.Question Type: Evaluate Argument
Boil It Down: Producers of the movie
Honeydew are releasing their movie early so it won’t compete with the predicted blockbuster
The Diamond.
Goal: Figure out which option would best help determine if moving the release date of Honeydew would even be worthwhile. Analysis:This question asks for a choice that, if we knew the information provided, would allow us to better evaluate the strength of the conclusion.
Conclusion: It is a good idea to release
Honeydew in the early spring.
Evidence: If the movie is released in the summer, it will face competition from
The Diamond, which is expected to be a big success.
Assumption: Many people would choose to not see
Honeydew because they will go to
The Diamond instead.
It would be useful to know the information described in choice A. If there is much overlap, then people who see
The Diamond might therefore choose not to see
Honeydew. But if there is no overlap, then the movies will not be competing for the same moviegoers. The producers could then make their decision with relevant information.
(A) Whether there is much overlap between the moviegoers who are likely to see
The Diamond and those who are likely to see
Honeydew.
This is the correct choice. The argument is all about how one film’s success might affect the other’s. Therefore, it makes sense that the correct choice would make a comparison between the two films, or more precisely, between their audiences. (B) Whether the producers of
Honeydew have tested the movie with small, paid audiences.
This has no bearing on the release date of the movie. Whether this has been done or not does not impact the decision as to when to release it.(C) Whether
The Diamond will be released in the early or late summer.
We don’t know which part of the summer the producers were originally planning on releasing Honeydew, so this choice doesn’t have any known effect on the conclusion.(D) Whether the number of cities in which each movie will be released is about the same.
This is irrelevant to the argument. If the numbers were wildly different, such as Honeydew opens in one theater and The Diamond opens in 10,000, then you could say that it is unlikely that changing the release date will matter at all. Knowing that they’re the same, though, does not help with the decision.(E) Whether the producers of
Honeydew have produced other successful summer movies.
This does not directly impact the conclusion. It is useless background information.Don’t study for the GMAT. Train for it.