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.
In order for a film to receive the Verified Hot designation, it needs to have a Verified Audience Score of 90 percent or higher on its Popcornmeter, among other eligibility requirements. Rotten Tomatoes will only use audience reviews from people whom it has verified as having purchased a ticket to that film via sister company Fandango, the ticketing firm also owned by Comcast.
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 site also will include a general “hot” badge on its audience-led Popcornmeter for films where at least 60 percent of reviews garner at least 3.5 stars out of five, and a “stale” badge for films that fall below that threshold.
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.”
