Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes
	File:Rotten Tomatoes logo.svg Logo used since 2018
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Entertainment, Media
Founded	August 12, 1998; 28 years ago in United States
Founder	Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, Stephen Wang
Headquarters	Beverly Hills, California, United States
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Review aggregation for movies and television shows
Owner	Fandango Media (Comcast)
Parent	Fandango Media
Website	rottentomatoes.com

Rotten Tomatoes is a U.S.-based platform that aggregates reviews for movies and television shows, established in August 1998 by University of California, Berkeley students Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang. Its name draws inspiration from a scene in the 1992 Canadian movie Léolo, symbolizing the tradition of audiences tossing rotten tomatoes to signal displeasure.

Ownership of Rotten Tomatoes transferred to Flixster in January 2010, which was subsequently acquired by Warner Bros. in 2011. In February 2016, Comcast's Fandango Media took over both Rotten Tomatoes and Flixster, while Warner Bros. maintained a minority interest. The platform wields considerable influence in the industry, with roughly one-third of American moviegoers consulting it prior to watching films.

The site's revenue approach revolves around compiling reviews from critics and viewers to produce a "fresh" or "rotten" score, a metric that has become instrumental in film promotion and box office outcomes. Despite its popularity, the site has faced critique for reducing complex reviews to simplistic ratings and for potential bias due to studios selectively screening critics.

History

Rotten Tomatoes was inaugurated on August 12, 1998, by Senh Duong as an initiative to consolidate film reviews from across the United States. Motivated by Jackie Chan’s Hollywood debut Rush Hour (1998), Duong developed the website within two weeks, initially spotlighting Chan’s movies before broadening its scope. The first film reviewed outside of Chan’s work was Your Friends & Neighbors (1998). The platform rapidly attracted attention, drawing between 600 and 1,000 visitors daily and receiving early coverage from Netscape and Yahoo!.

Duong joined forces with fellow UC Berkeley students Patrick Y. Lee and Stephen Wang to dedicate themselves full-time to Rotten Tomatoes, officially launching the enterprise on April 1, 2000. IGN Entertainment acquired the site in June 2004, followed by its purchase by News Corp’s Fox Interactive Media in September 2005 for $650 million. In January 2010, IGN divested Rotten Tomatoes to Flixster, merging their audiences to reach approximately 30 million unique monthly users. Warner Bros. then took ownership in 2011.

In early 2009, Current TV premiered The Rotten Tomatoes Show, a television adaptation that aired until 2010 before becoming a segment on InfoMania. By late 2009, interactive community features enabled users to create groups and participate in voting for parody awards; however, these groups were disbanded after Flixster’s acquisition. New community engagement tools were introduced by February 2011.

On September 17, 2013, Rotten Tomatoes broadened its focus to scripted television with the debut of TV Zone. Comcast’s Fandango Media purchased Rotten Tomatoes and Flixster in February 2016; Warner Bros. retained a minority share. By December that year, Fandango consolidated its operations at its Beverly Hills location.

Matt Atchity, who had served as editor-in-chief since 2007, left the company in July 2017. Later that November, the platform launched See It/Skip It, a web series on Facebook. In March 2018, Rotten Tomatoes introduced an updated visual identity and logo during South by Southwest.

The company earned the Webby People's Voice Award for Entertainment in 2020. In February 2021, Rotten Tomatoes rolled out design upgrades featuring an enhanced 'Score Box' displaying details such as release year, genre, runtime, and grouped rating statistics. Additionally, a "What to Know" section was added to provide concise summaries of critic and audience opinions for each film entry.

Aggregated Critic Ratings

Rotten Tomatoes compiles evaluations from reviewers who are accredited members of recognized critic organizations or writing guilds. To be eligible, critics must have their original reviews garner a designated number of user "likes." "Top Critics" generally represent major newspapers. Reviewers submit their assessments on the platform, designating them as "fresh" if positive or "rotten" if negative, allowing the system to generate scores even when some critiques lack numerical ratings.

The platform calculates the proportion of favorable reviews, known as the "Tomatometer." Titles scoring 60% or above are deemed "fresh," while those below 60% are labeled "rotten." Additionally, an average rating on a scale from 0 to 10 is displayed, accompanied by excerpts linking to full critiques.

A distinct "Top Critics" score aggregates opinions from renowned reviewers such as Roger Ebert and Owen Gleiberman, contributing to the overall rating. When there is a sufficient volume of reviews, Rotten Tomatoes publishes a consensus summary reflecting the critical response.

The "Certified Fresh" badge is granted to films achieving a Tomatometer rating of at least 75% with a minimum of 80 critic reviews (or 40 for limited releases), including at least five from Top Critics. This certification remains valid unless the positive score falls below 70%. Films with flawless ratings but lacking enough reviews do not qualify for certification.

To display a Tomatometer score, films must reach specific minimum critic review counts based on their anticipated U.S. box office earnings: 40 reviews for projections exceeding $120 million; 20 for $60 million or more; and 10 for under $60 million or for films without such projections.

Tomatometer ratings
Icon	Score Range	Explanation
	75–100%	Certified Fresh: Applies to wide-release films with at least 80 reviews (including five Top Critics) and limited releases with at least 40 reviews; TV series seasons require a minimum of 20 critic evaluations.
	60–100%	Fresh: Films or television shows earning 60% or higher but not meeting Certified Fresh requirements.
	0–59%	Rotten: Films or TV shows scoring below the 60% threshold.

Certification is sustained only when the Tomatometer rating remains consistent; a Certified Fresh film losing its rating below 70% over time will forfeit the designation.

Golden Tomato Awards

Beginning in 2000, Rotten Tomatoes launched the RT Awards to celebrate annually the top-reviewed films according to its scoring system. These awards were subsequently renamed the Golden Tomato Awards. Winners and nominees are publicized online without hosting a formal presentation event.

Films are divided into wide release (screened in over 600 theaters) and limited release categories (599 or fewer theaters), including platform releases that gradually expand distribution. Separate distinctions exist for British and Australian cinema. The "User" award honors the highest-rated film based on audience feedback, while the "Mouldy" award spotlights the lowest-rated productions. Eligibility mandates at least 40 critic reviews for domestic categories and a minimum of 500 user ratings for the audience-based award.

Movies are sorted by genre, with each film eligible in only one genre category except for non-English language films, which may appear both within their genre and in a distinct "Foreign" category.

Votes from critics on the site carry equal weight. Reviews added after an annual cutoff date—typically January 1—are excluded from that year's awards consideration. Only critiques providing ratings influence award outcomes.

Audience score and reviews

Each title includes a "user average" known as the "Popcornmeter," which represents the proportion of favorable ratings from registered users on a five-star scale.

To qualify for a Popcornmeter rating, films must reach minimum audience review counts determined by anticipated U.S. box office earnings: 500 reviews for projections exceeding $120 million; 300 for $60 million or more; 100 for $5 million or above; and 50 for films projected under $5 million or without projections.

On May 24, 2019, Rotten Tomatoes implemented a verified rating system requiring users to authenticate ticket purchases through Fandango Media, its parent company. Only verified reviews contribute to the audience score, while unverified ones are excluded.

On August 21, 2024, the audience score was rebranded as the Popcornmeter, accompanied by the introduction of the "Verified Hot" badge awarded to films with a verified audience rating of at least 90%. This badge has been retroactively applied to over 200 titles dating back to May 2019. Future plans include expanding verification to ticket platforms beyond Fandango.

Popcornmeter scores
Icon	Score	Description
	100–90%	Verified Hot
	100–60%	Hot: Titles scoring at least 60% but not meeting Verified Hot criteria.
	59–0%	Stale: Titles with scores of 59% or below.

"What to Know"

In February 2021, Rotten Tomatoes launched the "What to Know" feature on each film page, combining the existing "Critics Consensus" with a newly added "Audience Says" snippet to succinctly convey both critic and viewer perspectives. Prior to this, only the "Critics Consensus" was displayed once sufficient critic reviews were collected. Initially, "Audience Says" was incorporated for recent releases or those with substantial audience feedback, with intentions to extend coverage to older films.

"Critics Consensus" / "Audience Says"

Every film includes a concise summary of critic opinions called the "Critics Consensus," which factors into the Tomatometer score.

The "Audience Says" section, introduced in 2021, offers a brief overview of registered user feedback. This section may also address external influences shaping audience views to aid in informed viewing choices.

Localized versions

Following Fandango’s acquisition, localized editions for the UK, India, and Australia were discontinued. The Mexican site remains active.

API

Rotten Tomatoes provides an API offering limited access to critic and audience scores for integration on third-party platforms. This complimentary service is restricted to U.S. usage unless explicit permission is granted elsewhere. As of 2022, API access is available only to approved developers through an application process.

Influence

Major Hollywood studios regard Rotten Tomatoes as a potential challenge in film marketing efforts. In 2017, several high-profile releases such as Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Baywatch, and The Mummy underachieved at the box office relative to forecasts, with their low Rotten Tomatoes scores—30%, 19%, and 16% respectively—cited as factors diminishing audience enthusiasm. Conversely, highly rated films like Wonder Woman and Spider-Man: Homecoming, both scoring 92%, met or surpassed expectations with openings exceeding $100 million.

In response, 20th Century Fox commissioned a 2015 study titled "Rotten Tomatoes and Box Office," emphasizing the increasing impact of online reviews and social media on consumer choices, particularly among Millennials and Generation X. Similar research by other studios found that approximately 70% of viewers are less inclined to watch movies scoring below 25%, with Rotten Tomatoes wielding significant influence especially among audiences under age 25.

Rotten Tomatoes ratings have become pervasive across platforms such as Google search results, Fandango’s ticketing system, streaming services like Peacock, and Flixster. This widespread visibility has prompted complaints within the industry that poor scores can adversely affect a film’s commercial success. Some executives argue that negative ratings merely reflect authentic critical assessments and stress that delivering quality content remains essential for competitive advantage.

To mitigate early negative reviews impacting pre-sales and opening weekend attendance, certain studios have imposed embargoes or canceled advance critic screenings. For instance, Sony postponed reviews for The Emoji Movie until shortly before release; despite its low score of 9%, it debuted with $24 million in revenue. Warner Bros. employed a similar approach for The House, which earned a 16% score and opened to $8.7 million. However, these tactics risk backlash from critics and may signal subpar quality to potential viewers.

In February 2019, Rotten Tomatoes revised its user review policy by prohibiting audience ratings prior to a film’s public release in order to combat coordinated "review bombing," notably observed with Captain Marvel and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Additionally, verified reviews were introduced alongside clarifying the "Want to See" metric by presenting it as an absolute number rather than a percentage.

While debates persist regarding Rotten Tomatoes’ influence on box office outcomes, academic studies have yet to establish definitive correlations between ratings and financial performance. Nonetheless, by April 2024 industry insiders acknowledged that directors’ historical Rotten Tomatoes scores increasingly impact hiring decisions during pitch meetings, highlighting the platform’s expanding role in shaping market dynamics and strategic leadership within Hollywood.

Oversimplification

On the 75th anniversary of the New York Film Critics Circle in January 2010, chairman Armond White expressed disapproval of Rotten Tomatoes and comparable film review aggregator platforms, arguing that they "consolidate critics onto a single site and assign misleading percentage-based enthusiasm scores" that replace nuanced individual critiques with a generalized consensus. This viewpoint was echoed by film historian Landon Palmer from the University of Alabama, who described the site's scoring algorithm as "problematic" when applied to media art and entertainment.

Director and producer Brett Ratner also voiced concerns, stating that the platform "compresses hundreds of reviews into a simplified aggregate rating," while still acknowledging the value of traditional criticism. Writer Max Landis, whose film Victor Frankenstein earned a 24% score, criticized the site for distilling reviews into binary "yes" or "no" outcomes, labeling this approach as both destructive and arbitrary.

Review manipulation

In September 2023, Vulture brought attention to Rotten Tomatoes's susceptibility to review manipulation, highlighting the strategy employed by publicity firm Bunker 15. This tactic involved inflating scores by enlisting obscure reviewers, as demonstrated in the case of the 2018 film Ophelia. In response, Rotten Tomatoes removed several films associated with Bunker 15, including Ophelia, underscoring their dedication to preserving score integrity through vigilant oversight teams.

An article published by WIRED in February 2024, authored by former critic Christopher Null, noted that such promotional practices are widespread within public relations and independent film marketing, where paying for authentic reviews is a common method to enhance visibility.

Other criticisms

Director Martin Scorsese has criticized both Rotten Tomatoes and CinemaScore for encouraging an environment that demands immediate audience approval, which he believes diminishes the artistic value of cinema, particularly on streaming services. In 2015, actress Meryl Streep accused Rotten Tomatoes of underrepresenting female critics, suggesting this imbalance skewed ratings and negatively affected the commercial performance of films led by women. This claim ignited discussions about whether gender biases influence critical reception.

Rotten Tomatoes withheld the critic rating for Justice League until shortly before its release—a decision some interpreted as promotional in nature due to its connection with a related web series, raising questions about conflicts of interest given Warner Bros.' ownership and the critical difficulties faced by the DC Extended Universe.

Data from The New York Times revealed that audiences tend to rate movies higher than critics across most genres, with exceptions including black comedies and documentaries. Similarly, research from Slate indicated a preference bias toward pre-1990s films, possibly resulting from selective scoring practices favoring well-known classics.

These critiques illuminate persistent challenges in upholding impartiality and transparency within Rotten Tomatoes's operational framework and its impact on consumer perception and box office outcomes.