How User-Generated Videos Influence Movie Performance: The Mediating Role of Professional-Generated Video

User-generated videos (UGVs) and professional-generated videos (PGVs) have become important information sources in movie marketing, yet prior research has largely examined user-generated content and professional-generated content as independent drivers of market performance. This study investigates how UGV influences movie box office revenue through PGV and identifies the boundary conditions of this process. Drawing on signaling theory and the elaboration likelihood model, we propose that UGV volume generates social attention and stimulates PGV production, while PGV serves as a more credible quality signal that affects consumers’ viewing decisions. Using panel data on 226 movies released in China from 2024 to 2025 and 245,890 videos collected from Weibo, we test the proposed framework with fixed-effects models, endogeneity tests, and robustness checks. The results show that UGV volume indirectly increases box office revenue through PGV volume. Moreover, UGV creator reputation strengthens the positive relationship between UGV volume and PGV volume, and PGV perceived usefulness strengthens the positive effect of PGV volume on box office revenue. These findings reveal a sequential pathway through which user-generated social attention is transformed into professional market persuasion, offering theoretical and managerial implications for video-based interactive marketing.