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The best of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” reminded me why I used to love comic books, especially the ones about a boy named Peter Parker. There was a playful unpredictability to them that has often been missing from modern superhero movies, which feel so precisely calculated. Yes, of course, “No Way Home” is incredibly calculated, a way to make more headlines after killing off so many of its event characters in Phase 3, but it’s also a film that’s often bursting with creative joy.

Director Jon Watts and his team have delivered a true event movie, a double-sized crossover issue of a comic book that the young me would have waited in line to read first, excitedly turning every page with breathless anticipation of the next twist and turn. And yet they generally avoid getting weighed down by the expectations fans have for this film, somehow sidestepping the cluttered traps of other crowded part threes. “No Way Home” is crowded, but it’s also surprisingly spry, inventive, and just purely entertaining, leading to a final act that not only earns its emotions but pays off some of the ones you may have about this character that you forgot.

Note: I will very carefully avoid spoilers but stay offline until you see it because there are going to be landmines on social media.

“No Way Home” picks up immediately after the end of “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” with the sound of that film’s closing scene playing over the Marvel logo. Mysterio has revealed the identity of the man in the red tights, which means nothing will ever be the same for Peter Parker ( Tom Holland ). With an almost slapstick energy, “No Way Home” opens with a series of scenes about the pitfalls of super-fame, particularly how it impacts Peter’s girlfriend M.J. (Zendaya) and best bud Ned ( Jacob Batalon ). It reaches a peak when M.I.T. denies all three of them admission, citing the controversy about Peter’s identity and the roles his buddies played in his super-adventures.

Peter has a plan. The “wizard” he met when he saved half the population with The Avengers can cast a spell and make it all go away. So he asks Dr. Strange ( Benedict Cumberbatch ) to make the world forget that Spider-Man is Peter Parker, which, of course, immediately backfires. He doesn’t want M.J. or Ned or Aunt May ( Marisa Tomei ) to forget everything they’ve been through together, and so the spell gets derailed in the middle of it. Strange barely gets it under control. And then Doc Ock ( Alfred Molina ) and the Green Goblin ( Willem Dafoe ) show up.

As the previews have revealed, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” weaves characters and mythology from the other cinematic iterations of this character into the universe of the current one, but I’m happy to report that it’s more than a casting gimmick. My concern going in was that this would merely be a case of “ Batman Forever ” or even “ Spider-Man 3 ,” where more was often the enemy of good. It’s not. The villains that return from the Sam Raimi and Marc Webb films don’t overcrowd the narrative as much as they speak to a theme that emerges in the film that ties this entire series back to the other ones. For a generation, the line about Spidey was “With great power comes great responsibility.” “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is about the modern Peter Parker learning what that means. (It also helps a great deal to have actors like Molina and Dafoe in villain roles again given how the lack of memorable villains has been a problem in the MCU.)

So many modern superhero movies have confronted what it means to be a superhero, but this is the first time it’s really been foregrounded in the current run of Peter Parker, which turns “No Way Home” into something of a graduation story. It’s the one in which Parker has to grow up and deal with not just the fame that comes with Spider-Man but how his decisions will have more impact than most kids planning to go to college. It asks some interesting questions about empathy as Peter is put in a position to basically try to save the men who tried to kill other multiverse iterations of him. And it playfully becomes a commentary on correcting mistakes of the past not just in the life of Holland’s Parker but those of characters (and even filmmakers) made long before he stepped into the role. "No way Home" is about the weight of heroic decisions. Even the right ones mean you may not be able to go home again.

Watts hasn’t gotten enough credit in his other two Spider-Man movies for his action and “No Way Home” should correct that. There are two major sequences—a stunner in a mirror dimension in which Spidey fights Strange, and the climactic one—but it’s also filled with expertly rendered minor action beats throughout. There’s a fluidity to the action here that’s underrated as Mauro Fiore ’s camera swoops and dives with Spider-Man. And the big final showdown doesn’t succumb to the common over-done hollowness of MCU climaxes because it has undeniable emotional weight. I also want to note that Michael Giacchino ’s score here is one of the best in the MCU, by far. It’s one of the few themes in the entire cinematic universe that feels heroic.

With so much to love about “No Way Home,” the only shame is that it’s not a bit more tightly presented. There’s no reason for this movie to be 148 minutes, especially given how much the first half has a habit of repeating its themes and plot points. Watts (and the MCU in general) has a habit of over-explaining things and there’s a sharper version of “No Way Home” that trusts its audience a bit more, allowing them to unpack the themes that these characters have a habit of explicitly stating. And, no offense to Batalon, turning Ned into a major character baffles me a bit. He always feels like a distraction from what really works here. On the other hand, this is the first of these three films that has allowed Zendaya and Holland’s chemistry to shine. In particular, she nails the emotional final beats of her character in a way that adds weight to a film that can feel a bit airy in terms of performance.

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” could have just been a greatest hits, a way to pull different projects into the same IP just because the producers can. Some will see it that way just on premise alone, but there’s more going on here than the previews would have you believe. It’s about what historic heroes and villains mean to us in the first place—why we care so much and what we consider a victory over evil. More than any movie in the MCU that I can remember, it made me want to dig out my old box of Spider-Man comic books. That’s a heroic accomplishment.

In theaters on December 17 th .

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of action/violence, some language and brief suggestive comments.

148 minutes

Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man

Zendaya as Michelle 'MJ' Jones

Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange / Doctor Strange

Jon Favreau as Harold 'Happy' Hogan

Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds

Marisa Tomei as May Parker

Alfred Molina as Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus

Jamie Foxx as Max Dillon / Electro

Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin

Tony Revolori as Eugene 'Flash' Thompson

Angourie Rice as Betty Brant

Martin Starr as Mr. Harrington

Hannibal Buress as Coach Wilson

J.B. Smoove as Mr. Dell

J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson

Benedict Wong as Wong

Writer (based on the Marvel comic book by)

• Steve Ditko
• Chris McKenna
• Erik Sommers

Cinematographer

• Mauro Fiore
• Michael Giacchino

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Which cancelled show would you bring back for more seasons?

Unfortunately, both  The Acolyte  and My Lady Jane  have been cancelled after their first season, which is disappointing considering both offered unique concepts that we haven't seen before. Sure,  The Acolyte  was a part of the Star Wars franchise, but it focused on characters who had no connection to the Skywalker saga and highlighted the Sith and dark side characters in a way that the franchise never really has before. Then  My Lady Jane  tried capitalizing on the  Bridgerton  craze, but that did little to help the show on Prime Video, getting cancelled not long after its premiere on June 27. My Lady Jane  combined all that we love about historical period dramas with the whimsy and magic of fantasy, and perhaps it was that uniqueness about it that ultimately landed it on the chopping block. Both of the shows left Season 1 with the door

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Thanks to online ratings, it's easier than ever to know whether or not a movie is worth watching. A quick Google search brings up plenty of websites offering their opinions on the latest films.

The three most popular are IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, and Metacritic. But how do these sites differ, and which should you trust for information on movies? Here's everything you need to know.

The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is a gigantic compendium of movies, TV shows, and video games. Its primary use is to find detailed information about any actor, producer, or piece of media content.

When you pull up a movie, you'll see a synopsis, trailers, photos, a cast list, trivia, and much more. What makes IMDb so useful is its cross-referencing. Upon opening the page for an actor, you'll see their best-known roles. Thus, IMDb is great for those "what else have I seen her in?" moments.

The IMDb mobile app takes this a step further. If you create an account and give ratings to movies and other media, you'll see a You may know them from field on an actor's page if you've rated something they appeared in.

With a free IMDb account, you can also create a Watchlist of movies you want to see. Along with contributing to the 10-point rating scale with other users, IMDb has many other useful features to offer if you're interested.

Pros of IMDb

Unlike the other two sites, IMDb's reviews come solely from users. It only takes a minute to sign up for IMDb and leave a review, so there's little barrier to entry.

Thus, IMDb's biggest strength is that its scores gives you a good idea of what normal consumers think of it. Professional critics have no influence on IMDb scores.

IMDb has a weighted average system to prevent users from rigging the score, but the service doesn't make it clear exactly how this works. Click the review count next to the star icon on any movie's page to see a breakdown of how people rated it.

Below the overall star average, you can see how the ratings break down by a few demographics, including age and gender.

Cons of IMDb

IMDb's biggest problem is that like other platforms, most people only leave reviews if they love or hate a film. Thus, this skews the scores in favor of either fanboys or haters.

People who want to boost a movie's perception will likely rate the movie a 10, while those who didn't like it will give a rating of one. This means you should read a handful of reviews to get a full picture of the movie's quality.

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes is a trusted source for movie reviews sourced from critics. Every movie uses the "Tomatometer" to score the quality of a film. If the critic liked the movie, a red tomato appears by their review. When they don't like it, you'll see a green splat instead.

As long as 60 percent or more of critics like the movie, it earns an overall Fresh score with a red tomato. If under 60 percent of critics rate the movie favorably, it earns a Rotten score with a green splat.

Meanwhile, a Certified Fresh badge appears next to titles that are of particularly high quality. They must hold at least a 75 percent favorable score after 80 reviews, including at least five from top critics.

Open any movie's page, and you'll see the overall score plus its number of reviews at the top. Click See Score Details for a deeper breakdown. The Critics Consensus , present for most movies, is a great summary of why the movie received its score.

Rotten Tomatoes also providers a user score, shown by the popcorn bucket. When at least 60 percent of users rated it 3.5 stars (out of 5) or higher, it shows a full bucket. A tipped-over bucket represents that under 60 percent of users gave it under 3.5 stars. Since you can use half-star ratings, this is close to the IMDb score.

In 2019, Rotten Tomatoes made some changes to reduce "review bombing" of movies. There's no longer a Want to See percentage, and you'll also see a check next to user reviews where the site has confirmed that the person actually bought a ticket to the movie.

At the bottom of a movie's page, you can read excerpts from the critic reviews, filter by fresh or rotten, or only show top critics. Search for your favorite actors, and you can check the scores of films they appeared in.

Related: Sites Like Rotten Tomatoes to Find Average Ratings and Reviews for Anything

Pros of Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes has the advantage of sourcing its reviews from trusted critics. The Rotten Tomatoes criteria page explains that the site only takes reviews from trusted newspapers, podcasts, and websites. In theory, this means that only the opinions of the most-trusted movie critics influence the Rotten Tomatoes review.

The Top Critic designation lets you filter by the absolute best critics if you prefer. You can't get a more professional opinion than from these folks.

Overall, Rotten Tomatoes does a good job of letting you know at a glance whether or not a movie is worth your time. The easily identifiable icons, overall score, and consensus summary only take a moment to scan.

Cons of Rotten Tomatoes

The biggest issue with Rotten Tomatoes is that it breaks down complex opinions into a Yes or No score. It scores a critic who thought the movie was decent but had some flaws (say, a 59 percent rating) the same as one who thought the movie was absolute garbage (a zero percent score).

You'll notice this with the Average Rating under the score. Take Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle as an example. Of the 232 critic reviews, 177 of them are positive. This gives the movie a score of 76 percent. However, the critics rated the movie an average of 6.2/10---quite a bit under the 76 percent displayed on the page.

This doesn't mean the scores on Rotten Tomatoes are useless, of course. But it's important to remember that there's nuance in individual reviews, and the Fresh/Rotten system effectively turns every rating into a 100 or 0 score.

Metacritic aggregates reviews of movies and TV shows, plus video games and music albums. It's one of the best sites for gamers , but it can give you a good idea on the quality of movies too.

The site collects reviews from many sources and aggregates them into one "metascore" from 0 to 100. It displays a color and one-line indication of quality based on the overall score, with the following used for movies, TV, and albums:

• 81-100: Universal Acclaim (Green)
• 61-80: Generally Favorable Reviews (Green)
• 40-60: Mixed or Average Reviews (Yellow)
• 20-39: Generally Unfavorable Reviews (Red)
• 0-19: Overwhelming Dislike (Red)

Unlike Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic uses a weighted average system. Nobody knows the exact details, but the service assigns more importance to some sources than others. Like the other two sites, Metacritic also includes a separate user score, which does not influence the critic score.

The Pros of Metacritic

Metacritic avoids the Rotten Tomatoes problem of scoring every review as simply "good" or "bad." A review of 50 percent gets mixed in with the rest to create the metascore. Thus, the score you see on Metacritic is closer to the average review, as opposed to the percentage of critics who simply liked the movie on Rotten Tomatoes.

Additionally, among these three sites, Metacritic is the only one to feature full user reviews right next to critic reviews. This makes it easy to compare what the general public thinks compared to the professionals.

The Cons of Metacritic

While it's easy to translate a score from a five-star or 10-point scale, Metacritic's way of translating letter grade is questionable. We can see how this works on the About Metascores page :

While scoring an A as 100 percent makes sense, note the scores for B- and F , for instance. A 67 percent score for a B- seems a bit harsh. In most schools, a score of 67 percent is closer to an F than it is a B- .

And scoring an F as 0 percent seems unfair. Something like 20 percent for an F might be more appropriate. Because every site has different scales for scoring (some might not even use pluses and minuses), this could skew a reviewer's original meaning.

Also, unlike Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic seems to have few public standards. There's no detailed information on where it sources it critics from. Thus, the score potentially doesn't have as much weight behind it as Rotten Tomatoes does.

What Is the Best Movie Rating Website?

So we've now taken a look at IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, and Metacritic, and listed their major pros and cons. As you might have guessed, there's no one website that's best for everything.

However, we can recommend each of these sites for different reasons:

• IMDb is great for seeing what general audiences think of a movie. If you don't care what the critics say and want to see what people like yourself thought of a film, then you should use IMDb. Just be aware that fans often skew the vote with 10-star ratings, which may inflate scores somewhat.
• Rotten Tomatoes offers the best overall picture of whether a movie is worth seeing at a glance. If you only trust the opinions of top critics and just want to know if a movie is at least decent, you should use Rotten Tomatoes. While the Fresh/Rotten binary can oversimplify the often complex opinions of critics, it should still help you weed out lousy films.
• Metacritic offers the most balanced aggregate score. If you don't mind which critics' opinions go into the final score and prefer seeing a general average, then you should use Metacritic. Its standards are mostly unknown, but Metacritic makes it easy to compare professional and user reviews side-by-side.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with checking all three of these sites every time you're thinking of seeing a movie. Over time, you should figure out which site's tastes most match yours; then you'll know which is best for you personally.

Personal Taste Still Matters Most

Remember that movie scores aren't everything. All three of these sites don't, for instance, paint an accurate picture of movies that are so bad they're good. Because those movies are objectively terrible, they carry low scores even though they have ironic value.

Plus, it's impossible to sum up complex opinions from dozens of people into a single number. And no matter what the critics or general public think, your preferences might be totally different anyway. There's nothing wrong with enjoying a movie that most people find stupid. So while these sites are helpful, don't take them too seriously.

• Entertainment

Rotten Tomatoes Adds New ‘Verified Hot’ Audience Badge for Fan-Approved Movies

Other changes include a Verified Hot backlist and changes to the site’s aggregating practices

Rotten Tomatoes, the aggregate review site that describes itself as “the world’s most trusted destination for entertainment reviews and recommendations,” has launched Rotten Tomatoes Verified Hot, “a brand-new elevated designation and badge honoring the best-verified reviewed theatrical films by fans.” This is the audience equivalent of the Certified Fresh Tomatometer badge, which the site says is “awarded to the highest reviewed films by professional critics” and the thing your best friend from college cites for his reason to see (or not see) whatever movie is out.

Verified Hot, according to the official release, is “awarded to theatrical films that achieve a Verified Audience Score of 90% or higher on the Popcornmeter, and meet other eligibility requirements,” although what those requirements are remains unspecified.

The inaugural list of Verified Hot summer movies includes “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” “Deadpool & Wolverine,” “Fly Me to the Moon,” “Inside Out 2,” “Twisters” and “It Ends with Us.” Starting Wednesday, if you visit the site you will see “a full red popcorn bucket with a ‘Hot’ label if 60% or more of the audience rates the title with 3.5 stars or higher, while a green tipped-over popcorn bucket will now be labeled ‘Stale,’ when less than 60% of the audience provides a rating of 3.5 stars or higher.”

The label has been retroactively added to 200 titles that meet the bar.

“On Rotten Tomatoes, fans love to consult our verified audience score, in addition to the Tomatometer critics’ score, when discovering new movies and deciding what they want to watch next,” said Amanda Norvell, SVP, Direct-to-Consumer Services at Fandango, in an official statement. “With the addition of Rotten Tomatoes Verified Hot, we are excited to celebrate and shine a spotlight on the theatrical films that fans have unanimously embraced and have taken the time to share their incredible moviegoing experience with other fans.”

Additionally, , Rotten Tomatoes “is honoring the films that have resonated the most with audiences across the globe since the launch of Verified Audience Ratings and Reviews in May 2019.” (“Verified” reviews mean that Rotten Tomatoes can confirm the rating if the person had purchased a ticket for that film through Fandango.) Rotten Tomatoes has published a full list of Verified Hot titles on the site , which include modern classics like “Father Stu,” “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot,” “Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist” and “Plane.”

The site has also updated the criterion for when the Popcornmeter and Tomatometer scores populate on the site, “to provide a more accurate reflection of audience and critical sentiment.”

Per the outlet, both scores will now need to meet a new minimum number of reviews published on the site for a score to appear and the review threshold “will be determined by the film’s total projected domestic box office forecast.”

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The Sydney Morning Herald

Never trust a tycoon with a private island, even when they’re played by channing tatum, by sandra hall, save articles for later.

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.

BLINK TWICE ★★★ (MA) 122 minutes

Never trust a tycoon with a private island. It’s a lesson often repeated in movies and television but Frida and her friend Jess haven’t got the message.

Frida – played by Naomi Ackie, best known for her role as Whitney Houston in the 2022 biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody – feels ground down by her job as a cocktail waitress, so when one of her customers, Channing Tatum’s tech billionaire Slater King, invites her to holiday on his island, she accepts immediately. So does her flatmate Jess (Alia Shawkat), who’s just as eager for a break from humdrum routine.

Frida (Naomi Ackie, left) and Jess (Alia Shawkat) learn the hard way that you should never accept a free holiday from a tycoon in Blink Twice. Credit:

At first all goes well, with languorous days by the pool and candlelit dinners in the company of a gang of fellow fun-seekers. Then the party drugs come out, spiced up with a tropical variant involving snake venom, and the weirdness begins.

One night Jess vanishes and nobody but Frida remembers she was ever there. And Frida begins to experience memory lapses, coupled with nightmarish visions leading her to wonder if she’s losing her grip on reality. It doesn’t take her long to find out.

The film is actor Zoe Kravitz’s debut as a director. She started working on the story seven years ago with the idea she would create a garden of Eden, only to turn it into an outdoor prison a la Lord of the Flies . But you don’t have to scrutinise this too closely to find echoes of the Jeffrey Epstein case . King’s male playmates are his corporate colleagues and their hangers-on, and the female guests know as little about them as Frida and Jess.

What happens next slots the movie into the satirical horror genre made popular by Jordan Peele’s Get Out , except Peele made it look easier. Kravitz favours a saturated palette, extreme close-ups and an amplified soundtrack of bumps and crashes that gets louder as more drugs and booze are consumed. House rules dictate everybody is dressed in white, which means the players resemble a band of demented ghosts once the night-time revels get serious.

Channing Tatum’s tycoon Slater King is relentlessly polite in Blink Twice. Credit:

There are some familiar faces amid the mayhem. Christian Slater makes sinister work of the role of King’s chief lieutenant, Kyle MacLachlan appears briefly as his pompous therapist, and a ditzy Geena Davis turns up as King’s assistant-cum-housekeeper. There’s a lot of ditziness about, mainly because everybody is high on something, a state of mind that doesn’t do a lot for the standard of the dialogue. Conversation does happen.

Once the action really gets under way, most of it concentrates on the women’s desire to escape, even if they’re not quite sure what they’re escaping from.

Ackie is relentlessly photographed in harshly lit close-up, which means her wide-eyed performance develops a cartoonish quality. As her suspicions intensify, she teams up with Adria Arjona’s Sarah, who’s trying to summon the skills she learnt as a contestant on the TV series Survivor . Her diminished powers of concentration, however, can only take her so far.

Tatum, who is Kravitz’s fiance, makes energetic use of his looks and charm to make an unlikely villain out of King. His unfailing politeness is supposed to be one of the film’s best black jokes, but the script’s satirical intent soon gets lost amid the bloodletting, which is a pity because there are some mordant moments along the way.

The conclusion is clever but clunky in that it’s abrupt and contrived. It plays as if Kravitz came up with it when she first conceived the narrative and had to work backwards to make it fit. And it wasn’t easy.

Blink Twice is released in cinemas on August 22.

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‘Alien: Romulus’ Review: Go Ahead, Scream (No One Can Hear You)

The seventh installment of the series centers on Rain (Cailee Spaeny), a contract worker in an outer-space mining colony, and her friend Andy (David Jonsson), an android.

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By Manohla Dargis

Some movie sequels take a series in new directions, adding original ideas, new characters, different approaches and, at times, heft and myth. Other sequels are more like filler. They help plug the spaces between movies and keep the franchise’s brand in the public’s imagination, all while trying to make some cash. The newest “Alien” movie, “Alien: Romulus,” the seventh installment in this storied, apparently inexhaustible cycle of films, is perfectly adequate filler.

Since Ridley Scott’s “Alien” burst into gripping, gruesome life in 1979, the series has generated hits and misses, tankers of acidic slobber and a sizable body count. The franchise turned Sigourney Weaver into an icon and gave David Fincher his start as a film director. As the movies piled up, they also reminded you that the original “Alien” is a masterpiece and that even the lesser follow-ups that Scott directed, “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant,” have their virtues, among them striking visuals, filmmaking intelligence, a curiosity about the cosmos, and a twinned appreciation for the mystery of life and the inevitability of death.

“Alien: Romulus” is a nuts-and-bolts action-adventure horror story with boos and splatter. It doesn’t have much on its mind but it has some good jump scares along with a disappointingly bland heroine, a sympathetic android and the usual collection of disposable characters who are unduly killed by slavering, rampaging extraterrestrials. In series terms, the events in “Romulus” take place between those in “Alien” and those in the second film, “Aliens.” Written and directed by James Cameron, and crowded with big guns and bulging biceps, “Aliens” is largely notable for its swaggering action sequences that have become de rigueur in the series and for giving Weaver’s Ripley a muscular makeover while turning her into a surrogate mom.

Directed by Fede Álvarez (“ Don’t Breathe ”), who shares script credit with Rodo Sayagues, “Romulus” tells a familiar, half-baked story of adversity, gritty perseverance, quick thinking and a drag-down fight for survival. It centers on Rain (Cailee Spaeny), a 20-something contract worker in a grim outer-space mining colony. There, along with Andy (David Jonsson), a glitchy android that she loves and calls her brother, Rain yearns to leave the sunless planet and the punishing conditions that condemned both her parents to early deaths. She soon gets her chance when some other friends share that they’re planning an escape in an abandoned space station that has conveniently drifted above their planet.

Álvarez gets through this setup economically, and it isn’t long before Rain and company are creeping through the station’s eerily empty corridors, exploring its topsy-turvy rooms and pondering its not particularly mysterious mysteries. (Álvarez spends a lot of time showing off his sets, which are more engaging than the writing.) Spaeny, who played Priscilla Presley in Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla,” is an appealing performer — her youth and slight frame deceptively suggest near-childlike vulnerability — and you’re on Rain’s side straightaway. What keeps you rooted there is largely a matter of film-going habit and franchise familiarity: She’s the heroine and Ripley’s symbolic heir, after all, and the monsters are coming.

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Introducing the verified hot audience badge, we're launching an elevated designation for the movies with the highest verified audience scores..

Rotten Tomatoes has been around for a long time (more than 25 years now!), and the core of what we do has always revolved around critics and the reviews they publish. But we’ve also been lucky enough to attract a passionate fan base of movie and TV lovers who enjoy sharing their opinions and engaging in meaningful discussion. Their user ratings and reviews help power the Popcornmeter and add nuance to the way fans discover new movies and TV shows.

Well, we thought it was about time to elevate that discussion, and to that end, we’re proud to announce the launch of Verified Hot, a brand new elevated designation and badge honoring theatrical films with the highest-rated Verified Audience Scores on the Popcornmeter.

We assume you’re already familiar with our Certified Fresh Tomatometer badge; if not, you can read all about it here . Verified Hot will serve as a complement to Certified Fresh, allowing movie fans to identify not only the films that were widely praised by critics, but also the ones that were beloved by audiences. It’s a win-win on all fronts!

But how does a film become Verified Hot? In order to qualify for it, it has to earn a Verified Audience Score of 90% or higher on the Popcornmeter and meet a set of eligibility requirements, which you can read about here . If a film earns Verified Hot status, but its Popcornmeter subsequently drops below 80%, it will lose the Verified Hot designation. This goes into effect for all movies that have qualified for it since May of 2019, when we originally introduced Verified Audience Reviews . Some of the most recent Verified Hot movies include  Deadpool & Wolverine ,  Twisters , Inside Out 2 , and  Bad Boys: Ride or Die , but you can see the full list of current Verified Hot films here .

In addition to Verified Hot, we’re also enhancing the way we reference the Popcornmeter in general. Starting today, when 60% or more of the audience rates a title at 3.5 stars or higher, you’ll see a full red popcorn bucket with a “Hot” label; a Popcornmeter of less than 60%, on the other hand, will earn the title a “Stale” green tipped-over popcorn bucket.

Lastly, to provide our users a more accurate reflection of audience and critical sentiment, we’ve also updated the criteria that dictates when a Popcornmeter or Tomatometer score will show up for films. 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. Let’s start with the Tomatometer:

The reason for breaking things out in this way is because, for example, a film that’s forecasted to make more than $120 million during its theatrical run is inevitably going to be a giant tentpole title with a super wide release that will likely earn hundreds of critic reviews and thousands of audience reviews, while a film that isn’t expected to crack $5 million is going to be a small feature in limited release that may not be widely available to critics and audiences everywhere. With this kind of variation, we felt that a one-size-fits-all approach to Tomatometer and Popcornmeter scores across all films wasn’t ideal, so we took steps to improve it.

Here at Rotten Tomatoes, we pride ourselves on delivering the most trusted entertainment recommendations possible to audiences across the world, and we’re constantly looking for ways to improve that experience. We think these changes will help guide more fans to the movies and TV shows they love and help them to discover new favorites. The Popcornmeter wouldn’t be nearly as useful without the contributions from those of you who continue to leave user ratings and reviews, so be sure to leave plenty of them, and your fellow movie and TV lovers will thank you for it!

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Watch out hollywood, rotten tomatoes is adding “hot” movies to its “fresh” rankings.

Movies that are 'Verified Hot' by filmgoers will join those that are 'Certified Fresh' from critics, in a move meant to give more weight to consumer opinions, as the site also tweaks its review eligibility requirements.

By Alex Weprin

Alex Weprin

Media & Business Writer

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The Rotten Tomatoes “Certified Fresh” badge has become online shorthand for checking the quality of films, a sign that professional critics — or at least a large percentage of them — think that a movie is worth watching. Now, the Comcast-owned digital movie site is making a significant addition to its film rankings, unveiling a new “Verified Hot” badge on Aug. 21 meant to reflect the views of average moviegoers.

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Box office: 'inside out 2' on fire at friday box office, now heading for joyful $130m-$140m u.s. debut, a marvel project finally gets a perfect rotten tomatoes score.

Rotten Tomatoes scores occasionally become battlegrounds for fandom and culture war clashes, with Disney+’s Star Wars series The Acolyte (which, amid allegations of review bombing, has not been renewed for a second season) serving as the latest example and 2016’s all-female Ghostbusters reboot often considered the first mainstream instance of users seeking to game the scores. Such attempts at manipulation do reflect, however, that the site’s scores have over the years gained clout to convey a certain degree of coveted pop culture credibility. 

The first films to receive the Verified Hot badge include Deadpool & Wolverine , Twisters , Bad Boys: Ride or Die , Fly Me to the Moon and It Ends With Us . The site is also adding the badge retroactively to more than 200 films.

In another move, Rotten Tomatoes is updating the minimum number of critic reviews for a film before a Tomatometer score can appear. If a movie debuts at a film festival or is projected to have a box office of $60 million or less, then it will need to have 10 reviews for a score; if it has a projected box office of $60 million to $120 million, it will require 20 reviews; and if the projected box office is greater than $120 million, it will need 40 reviews. 

The changes are significant on multiple fronts. A high score on either its consumer-centric Popcornmeter or critic-centric Tomatometer can make or break a movie in the days just before or after it bows at the box office.

In addition, the new Verified Hot badge appears to shift power from critics to average moviegoers, who can now in aggregate help a film generate a coveted badge, something that had been reserved for pro reviewers with the Certified Fresh designation.

“On Rotten Tomatoes, fans love to consult our verified audience score, in addition to the Tomatometer critics’ score, when discovering new movies and deciding what they want to watch next,” said Amanda Norvell, senior VP of direct-to-consumer services at Fandango. “With the addition of Verified Hot, we are excited to celebrate and shine a spotlight on the theatrical films that fans have unanimously embraced and have taken the time to share their incredible moviegoing experience with other fans.”

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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.

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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.
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• 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.

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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.

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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.

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Dog Documentary Debuts Big On Netflix Global Top 10 Movies Chart

"Inside the Mind of a Dog."

The Netflix original documentary Inside the Mind of a Dog is a big hit with the streamer’s viewers worldwide.

Hosted by Rob Lowe, the documentary delves into thoughts of canines and per the film’s logline, “reveals what they are thinking, why they do what they do and if they really ‘love’ us like we love them.”

According to Netflix , Inside the Mind of a Dog debuted at No. 6 in its first week of release on the streamer’s Global Top 10 Movies chart for the week of August 12-18 with 5 million views, which equates to 6.2 million hours viewed.

The streamer noted that Inside the Mind of a Dog also debuted at No. 6 on Netflix’s U.S. Top 10 Movies chart and finished in the top 10 in 25 other countries.

Debuting at No. 1 on Netflix’s Global Top 10 Movies chart in its first week of release is the Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg action-comedy The Union . Also starring Mike Colter , J.K. Simmons and Jackie Earle Haley, The Union had 33.1 million views, which equates to 60.1 million hours viewed.

The Union was also the No. 1 movie on Netflix in the U.S. and 92 other countries worldwide.

Two ‘Kingsman’ Movies Make Netflix Global Top 5

Coming in at No. 2 on Netflix’s Global Top 10 Movies chart for the week of August 12-18 is the 2014 action-comedy Kingsman: The Secret Service (15.2 million views/33 million hours viewed) followed by its 2017 sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circl e (9.6 million views/22.8 million hours viewed) at No. 3.

Both Kingman films have been in the streamer’s top global top 10 for two weeks.

The 2017 animated family comedy The Emoji Movie debuted in the global top 10 at No. 4 with 7.7 million views, which equates to 11.2 million viewing hours.

The 2024 Netflix original animated family comedy Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie (6.2 million views/9 million hours viewed) rounded out the Netflix global top five.

Following Inside the Mind of a Dog at No. 7 is the 2018 Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish comedy Night School (4.9 million views/9 million hours viewed).

The 2017 animated family comedy Ferdinand (4.8 million views/8.8 million hours viewed) came in at No. 8 in its second week on the chart, while the 2022 action thriller Ambulance (4.1 million views/9.3 million hours viewed) debuted at No. 9.

The animated family comedy Trolls Band Together (3.2 million views/4.9 million hours viewed) rounded out the global top 10 in its fifth week on the chart.