About Rotten Tomatoes®
As the world’s most trusted and recognized source of movie and TV reviews, Rotten Tomatoes and the Tomatometer score have served as the most reliable home of entertainment recommendations for over 25 years. We offer authentic reactions in a broad range of reviews from professional critics and everyday fans alike in addition to helpful, easily digestible what-to-watch roundups. Not only that, but we help build anticipation and provide fans with access to first look entertainment previews, trailers, behind-the-scenes exclusives, and more, as well as original editorial features, fun and informative video series, and even books and games. If you're an entertainment fan looking for a diverse range of perspectives curated in an easy-to-understand format, we'll help you find what you're in the mood for and open your eyes to new things to enjoy.
What is the Tomatometer®?
Tomatometer scores are based on the collective opinions of hundreds of film and television critics and serve as a trusted measurement of critical entertainment recommendation for millions of fans. The Tomatometer score represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show. We have recently updated our criteria for the number of reviews it takes for a Tomatometer score to populate. You can read more about that HERE.
When at least 60% of reviews for a movie or TV show are positive, it is considered Fresh and a red tomato is displayed.
When less than 60% of reviews for a movie or TV show are positive, it is considered Rotten and a green splat is displayed.
If a title has not released yet or there are not enough reviews to generate a Tomatometer score, a gray faded tomato is displayed.
What is Certified Fresh?
Certified Fresh status is a special designation awarded to the best-reviewed movies and TV shows. To qualify, movies or TV shows must meet the following requirements:
- A Tomatometer score of 75% or higher, with at least five reviews from Top Critics.
- Films in wide release must have a minimum of 80 reviews. This also applies for films expanding from limited to wide release.
- Films in limited release must have a minimum of 40 reviews.
- Streaming movies must have a minimum of 40 reviews.
- Only individual seasons of a TV show are eligible, and each season must have a minimum of 20 reviews.
- Theatrical releases that premiere at festivals must have an announced release date.
Curation
Rotten Tomatoes has a team of curators whose job is to gather thousands of movie and TV reviews weekly. The team constantly collects movie and TV reviews from Tomatometer-approved critics and publications generating Tomatometer scores. Our curation process considers these reviews, noting if they are Fresh or Rotten, and our curators choose a representative pull-quote. Tomatometer-approved critics can also self-submit their reviews.
What is the Popcornmeter?
The Popcornmeter, which captures audience sentiment, is represented by a popcorn bucket and indicates the percentage of fans who have rated a movie or TV show positively. When we can verify users have bought a ticket to a film, the default score shown is composed of “Verified Ratings.” For all other titles, we display an “All” score that includes ratings from people regardless of whether or not we can verify that they have seen the movie. Titles displaying Verified Ratings also have an All score. To view it, simply click on the popcorn bucket and you can toggle between the two.
We have updated our criteria for the number of ratings it takes for the Popcornmeter to populate a score. You can read more about that HERE.
When at least 60% of users give a movie or TV show a star rating of 3.5 or higher, a full popcorn bucket is displayed.
When less than 60% of users give a movie or TV show a star rating of 3.5 or higher, a tipped over popcorn bucket is displayed.
If a title has not released yet or there are not enough reviews to generate an Audience Score, a gray faded popcorn bucket is displayed.
If we can confirm that a user bought a ticket to a movie they've reviewed, a checkmark icon is displayed next to the review.
What is Verified Hot?
The Verified Hot status and badge is an elevated designation honoring the highest verified reviewed theatrical films by fans. Verified Hot is composed of Verified Ratings and Reviews from the Popcornmeter score and will be applied to all eligible first run movies released on or after May 2019. To qualify, a movie must meet the following achievement qualifications:
- Have a Verified Audience Score of 90% or higher.
- Have a minimum of 500+ Verified Ratings for films in wide release.
- Have a minimum of 250+ Verified Ratings for films in limited release.
- Repertory titles (such as classic rereleases) are also eligible for the designation.
Community & Critics Code of Conduct
At Rotten Tomatoes, we are always looking to update our policies to try to ensure we maintain a safe and fair community for every movie and TV fan. For our Community Code of Conduct, click HERE. You can also find our Tomatometer-approved Critics Code of Conduct HERE.