I Just Learned How Rotten Tomatoes Scores Really Work, And It's Way More Complicated Than I Thought

tomatoI’m not sure why, but for some reason I loathe watching trailers – maybe because I often find them unrepresentative of the film, but (more probably) because they take longer than a quick review skim. And while I do have my favourite film critics, I don’t trust them as much as I do Rotten Tomatoes, whose audience scores can differ completely from the critical consensus. I’m not alone. A 2023 paper found that reviews from sites like Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb played a “significant role” in how likely people were to hear about, and watch, a film.But how do movies get their “Certified Fresh” or (gasp) “Rotten” status to begin with?Here’s how Rotten Tomatoes scores are createdThere are two scores on the site: a Tomatometer score, which is made up of professional critics’ opinions, and the Popcornmeter, which comes from non-critic audience members. But the Tomatometer doesn’t populate unless a certain review threshold is met. “Since we know that the number of reviews for a given title can change dramatically during its theatrical run, the threshold for when a Popcornmeter or Tomatometer score will display is now based on domestic box office projections as provided by an independent outside source,” their site reads. For a film festival flick or one with projected domestic box office takings of $60 million or less, it takes 10 professional reviews for a Tomatometer score to show on the site. For an estimated $60-120 million movie, you’ll need 20 official reviews to earn a critic’s score on the site; at $120+, it rises to 40 reviews. Similar rules go for audience scores, too. If a movie’s not expected to make more than $5 million domestically, 50 verified ratings will win it a Popcornmeter score. If experts think your movie will make $5-$60 million, you’ll need 100 verified reviews; $60-120 million films require 300 reviews, meanwhile, and anything that’s likely to go over the $120 million mark needs 500 verified audience reviews.What do green splats, red tomatoes, and grey tomatoes mean in Rotten Tomatoes?A red tomato on the Tomatometer score means that 1) there are enough professional critic reviews to show on the site, and 2) that over 60% of them are positive. A red tomato with “certified fresh” written in a yellow banner around it means that over 75% of critical reviews were positive, and at least five of those positive reviews have come from “top critics”.A green splat means the title has been deemed “rotten” because less than 60% of professional reviews are positive. “If a title has not [been] released yet or there are not enough reviews to generate a Tomatometer score, a grey faded tomato is displayed,“Rotten Tomatoes explained. What do red, green, and grey popcorn buckets mean on Rotten Tomatoes?A red popcorn bucket on the Popcornmeter score means that at least 60% of verified audience members gave the movie a minimum of 3.5 stars. A green one, tipped over to its side, means less than 60% have given it a 3.5-star rating. As with the tomato score, a grey popcorn bucket means the movie’s not out yet, or the thresholds for reviews haven’t been met. Lastly, some verified audience scores will have a green check mark beside them – that means Rotten Tomatoes “can confirm that a user bought a ticket to a movie they’ve reviewed.” Who knew so much went into the review site?Related...11 Classic Movies People Think Aged Like Fine Wine11 Movies Critics Hated, But Audiences LovedIs Too Much Lena Dunham's 'Worthy Successor To Girls' Or A 'Total Disappointment'? Critics Can't Agree

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