How Does Rotten Tomatoes Work?

With hundreds of movies hitting the silver screen each year, it’s not easy for cinema enthusiasts to pick the perfect one to catch in theaters. Yes, individual critics’ ratings and word-of-mouth spread quickly after a movie’s release; who has time to sift through so many reviews and public opinion? This is where a platform like Rotten Tomatoes saves your day. But how does Rotten Tomatoes work? 

In this guide, we will dissect how the website works and forms a balanced consensus, if indeed it does. We will also talk about the popular ‘Tomatometer.’ Let’s get going. 

What is Rotten Tomatoes?

Did you know that last year, the United States registered over 450 movie releases, not to mention the countless TV shows on streaming services? Rotten Tomatoes is a valuable resource for audiences looking to make informed decisions about what to watch. It’s an all-in-one hub where you can find the critics’ reviews and general public opinions for any movie and TV show.

Launched in August 1998, Rotten Tomatoes is a popular American review-aggregation platform for movies and TV shows worldwide. The term rotten tomatoes has been used for decades as a symbol of disapproval or dissatisfaction, dating back to the 19th century.

The name emerged from an old theater tradition where audiences would throw whatever in hand (Vegetables, eggs) at a poorly performed or disliked show. 

The founders chose ‘Rotten Tomatoes’ for the website since it gathers and aggregates reviews and ratings to help audiences determine which movies or TV shows are worth watching.

What is the Rotten Tomatoes Rating System?

For nearly 25 years, Rotten Tomatoes has been a go-to destination for movie lovers seeking trending and well-performing cinema worldwide. However, since its acquisition by Fandango, the website has gone through a complete revamp, adding more information, including the Tomatometer, which we will discuss in the next section. 

In all honesty, Rotten Tomatoes ratings wield substantial influence over movie ticket sales thanks to its highly reliable evaluation. According to many critics, the feedback on Rotten Tomatoes carries more weight than on any other website or in traditional newspapers. 

It’s worth noting that Rotten Tomatoes doesn’t employ its critics; instead, it compiles ratings from accredited film critics associated with reputable newspapers, media outlets, or entertainment platforms.

The company has a huge team of curators who aim to go through thousands of movie and TV show reviews from various sources. The team uses the reviews from the approved critics and publication houses to generate a universal score for each movie and TV show, known as Tomatometer. The platform divides these ratings into two categories – Fresh and Rotten, with the latter denoting superior content. 

Thus, it’s safe to say that the website is unbiased, further cementing its popularity among the masses. But how does the Rotten Tomatoes Rating system work?

How Does Rotten Tomatoes Work?

Rotten Tomatoes uses two primary parameters to rate a movie: Critics rating and Public feedback. As you go to the website, you’ll find Rotten Tomatoes’ top movies and their respective ratings alongside upcoming releases. You can also explore trending movies, popular TV shows, new releases on platforms like Netflix, and content recommended from other streaming services.

You have a search bar at the top of the homepage to look up a particular movie or TV show. Each movie has a dedicated page where all the information is available in detail. You can find the trailer, places to watch, a concise plot synopsis (spoiler-free), and production details such as the studio, distributor, director, genre, language, runtime, and cast and crew credits.

The rating part is divided into two sections – Tomatometer and Audience Score- displayed in percentages. Generally, the higher the percentage is, the more favorable reception the movie/TV show has received. There is a newly added section called ‘What to Know,’ which consists of two subsections – 

1. Critics Consensus:

It is a summary of movie feedback from Rotten Tomatoes critics. Based on all the reviews from critics worldwide, the team curates a collective opinion on the movie, which tells you why or why not you should watch it. You can click on Read Critic Reviews to go through all the reviews in detail. 

2. Audience Says:

Based on hundreds of public reviews, this section provides a general overview of the movie, covering its strong points, weak links, highlights, etc. Again, this is a good parameter for those who go by word-of-mouth rather than critics’ perspectives. You can explore all audience reviews by clicking Read Audience Reviews for a deeper dive.

What is ‘Tomatometer’?

As mentioned above, Rotten Tomatoes uses the Tomatometer score to highlight the collective critics’ opinions regarding a particular movie or TV show. This score is displayed in percentage, indicating the proportion of positive reviews received by the movie. Please note that at least five critic reviews are necessary to compute a Tomatometer score. 

It doesn’t matter what rating a critic gives the movie; if it accumulates a score of 7 or higher, it’s classified as positive or negative. The procedure is manual, as the team reads hundreds of reviews and then calculates the percentage of positive reviews. The website shows the Tomatometer score in three categories – 

• Fresh – A fresh status is shown for a movie when at least 60% of the reviews favor the movie. A red tomato is displayed to indicate the status. 

• Rotten – If a movie’s positive reviews are below 60%, the Rotten status is displayed, marked by a green splat icon. 

• No Score – If no Tomatometer score is available, it means the title is yet to be released or hasn’t received enough critics’ reviews yet. 

In addition to the Fresh and Rotten designations, the Tomatometer displays the average critic rating on a scale of 10, the total number of reviews, and the counts of fresh and rotten reviews for further context.

How Does Rotten Tomatoes Choose the Critics?

Over the years, Rotten Tomatoes has created a name for itself thanks to unbiased critics’ reviews. Unsurprisingly, the company has established strict guidelines for listing movie critics on the platform.

Rotten Tomatoes critics are professional movie pundits who consistently review movies individually or in affiliation with various entities like newspapers, media outlets, or entertainment platforms. 

Generally, the reviews come from two different categories:

1. Individual professional critics who work independently and consistently share their reviews via social media channels, YouTube, Podcasts, etc. These critics must get Rotten Tomatoes’ approval to feature their reviews on the website.
2. Rotten Tometoes-approved publications, including online video platforms, newspapers, magazines, radio broadcasts, podcasts, and movie-related websites. Once the publication gets approval, its movie reviews appear on Rotten Tomatoes, irrespective of the individual critic who created them.

Critics go through an evaluation process where they are judged based on their insight, review quality, audience engagement, and commitment to the profession. The individual critics must be active and publish movie reviews for two years. In the case of video reviews, their channel must have a minimum of 30k subscribers to fulfill the criteria.

How Does Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score Work?

Apart from professional critics rating, Rotten Tomatoes also tells you what common moviegoers think about the work. The audience score is visible alongside the Tomatometer, so you can compare the two to determine whether to spend your time and money on the movie.

Please note that both scores are independent and don’t influence each other. You may find a movie with a high Tomatometer but a poor Audience score, and vice versa. 

Much like the Tomatometer, the Audience Score represents the percentage of positive reviews a movie has received from the general audience. Again, a rating above 3.5 out of 5 gets a positive label, otherwise negative. A popcorn bucket icon symbolizes the Audience Score:

• A full popcorn bucket signifies a positive review, indicating that more than 60% of viewers have rated the movie 3.5 or higher.

• An overturned popcorn bucket is used when less than 60% of users have rated the movie 3.5 or higher.

Anyone can register on the website and post a review. There is also a verified reviews section for the users who have bought the tickets from Fandango. 

What is Rotten Tomatoes Certified Fresh?

There is a special category for the Rotten Tomatoes best movies and TV shows, named Certified Fresh. Typically, this category includes films that receive widespread acclaim and recommendations for viewing. To qualify for Certified Fresh, a movie must fulfill the following requirements:

• The Tomatometer score of the work must consistently stay at 75% or above. 
• The movie must have at least five reviews from top (Rotten Tomatoes-certified) critics. 
• A wide-release movie must have at least 80 reviews. The threshold remains the same if a movie shifts from limited to wide release. 
• A limited-release movie should have a minimum of 40 reviews. 
• Only Individual seasons of TV shows are eligible for this category, and each one must accumulate at least 20 reviews. 

It’s important to remember that a movie or TV show doesn’t instantly become a Certified Fresh on meeting the above-mentioned requirements. The Tomatometer score must remain consistent and not fall below 75% for a certain period.

Any Certified Fresh movie or TV show whose score falls and stays below 70% will lose the Certified Fresh title. If the Tomatometer score later climbs back to 75% or higher, the Certified Fresh title comes back.

Is Rotten Tomatoes Rating Genuine?

According to the website ranker Alexa, Rotten Tomatoes constantly ranks in the top 1000 globally and is currently holding the 593rd spot globally and 256th in the United States. Regarding movie and TV show reviews, it’s usually the first pick of users, alongside IMDB. 

Since IMDB has fallen to biased reviews and social media bots, Rotten Tomatoes has become the top destination for movie lovers. Whether it’s Rotten Tomatoes’ new releases or Rotten Tomatoes Netflix, people trust the platform to find what they are looking for. 

Its ratings are generally genuine and reliable indicators of how a movie or TV show is performing. The combination of professional critics’ reviews and user feedback provides a comprehensive snapshot of critical and audience opinions. 

Frequently Asked Questions:

Final Word:

In the age where online streaming services reach every household, bringing people to cinema halls takes something special. However, watching a movie on a big screen is an experience no high-end television sets or home theater systems can offer.

As ticket prices continue to rise, even if people choose to walk to the theatre, they’re likely to pick an approved movie rather than an untested one. Rotten Tomatoes has no competition in this regard; the Tomatometer seems to be the number one indicator of a movie’s performance.