Film critics view movies with a critical eye. They consider artistic composition, acting, and other elements when evaluating a movie. And their opinions matter. Film critics can influence consumer choices and affect a movie’s success.
Still, the tastes of professional film reviewers sometimes diverge significantly from the taste of moviegoers. This has become increasingly clear in the digital age, when both critics and more casual movie fans alike can rate movies using numerical scales.
24/7 Wall St. has reviewed movie ratings of critics and of general audiences on Rotten Tomatoes and audiences on Internet Movie Database (IMDb) to determine which films have the greatest disparities between the critics and general audience. These are the movies that critics love but audiences hate.
Click here to see the movies critics love but audiences hate.
Click here to see the movies audiences love but critics hate.
Click here to see our detailed findings and methodology.
50. Trainwreck (2015)
> Directed by: Judd Apatow
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.2/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 7/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.2/10
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49. Me and Orson Welles (2008)
> Directed by: Richard Linklater
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.2/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.6/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.8/10
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48. That Thing You Do! (1996)
> Directed by: Tom Hanks
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.2/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.6/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.9/10
47. Dreamgirls (2006)
> Directed by: Bill Condon
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.2/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.8/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.5/10
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46. Romancing the Stone (1984)
> Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.3/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.4/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.9/10
45. Adventureland (2009)
> Directed by: Greg Mottola
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.3/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.6/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.8/10
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44. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)
> Directed by: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.3/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.4/10
> IMDb audience rating: 7/10
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43. The Crucible (1996)
> Directed by: Nicholas Hytner
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.3/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.4/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.8/10
42. Primary Colors (1998)
> Directed by: Mike Nichols
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.2/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.2/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.7/10
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41. 48 Hrs. (1982)
> Directed by: Walter Hill
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.3/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.4/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.9/10
40. Mississippi Grind (2015)
> Directed by: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.3/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.6/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.4/10
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39. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)
> Directed by: Werner Herzog
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.3/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.4/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.6/10
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38. Parenthood (1989)
> Directed by: Ron Howard
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.4/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.4/10
> IMDb audience rating: 7/10
37. Thirteen (2003)
> Directed by: Catherine Hardwicke
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.3/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.6/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.8/10
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36. To Die For (1995)
> Directed by: Gus Van Sant
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.3/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.2/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.8/10
35. The Beguiled (2017)
> Directed by: Sofia Coppola
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.2/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.2/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.3/10
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34. Compliance (2012)
> Directed by: Craig Zobel
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.5/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.8/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.4/10
33. Courage Under Fire (1996)
> Directed by: Edward Zwick
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.3/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.4/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.6/10
32. The Hoax (2006)
> Directed by: Lasse Hallström
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.2/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.4/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.7/10
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31. All of Me (1984)
> Directed by: Carl Reiner
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.4/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.4/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.7/10
30. Shaft (1971)
> Directed by: Gordon Parks
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.5/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.6/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.6/10
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29. While We’re Young (2014)
> Directed by: Noah Baumbach
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.3/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.4/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.3/10
28. Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
> Directed by: Frank Oz
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.4/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.6/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.9/10
27. Fame (1980)
> Directed by: Alan Parker
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.2/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.4/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.6/10
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26. Dear White People (2014)
> Directed by: Justin Simien
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.5/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.8/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.2/10
25. Hail, Caesar! (2016)
> Directed by: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.2/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 5.8/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.3/10
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24. Dave (1993)
> Directed by: Ivan Reitman
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.5/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.2/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.8/10
23. Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
> Directed by: Gurinder Chadha
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.2/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.4/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.7/10
22. Fly Away Home (1996)
> Directed by: Carroll Ballard
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.2/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.2/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.8/10
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21. The Freshman (1990)
> Directed by: Andrew Bergman
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.5/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.2/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.5/10
20. Get Shorty (1995)
> Directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.8/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.4/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.9/10
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19. Roxanne (1987)
> Directed by: Fred Schepisi
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.4/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.2/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.6/10
18. Saturday Night Fever (1977)
> Directed by: John Badham
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.5/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.4/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.8/10
17. Matilda (1996)
> Directed by: Danny DeVito
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.5/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.4/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.9/10
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16. James and the Giant Peach (1996)
> Directed by: Henry Selick
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.2/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.2/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.7/10
15. It Comes at Night (2017)
> Directed by: Trey Edward Shults
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.4/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 5.6/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.2/10
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14. The Witches (1990)
> Directed by: Nicolas Roeg
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.7/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.4/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.8/10
13. Under the Skin (2013)
> Directed by: Jonathan Glazer
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.8/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.4/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.3/10
12. Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985)
> Directed by: Tim Burton
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.8/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6/10
> IMDb audience rating: 7/10
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11. Night Moves (2013)
> Directed by: Kelly Reichardt
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.2/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6/10
10. Rogue (2007)
> Directed by: Greg McLean
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.8/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6.6/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.2/10
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9. Married to the Mob (1988)
> Directed by: Jonathan Demme
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.3/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 5.8/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.1/10
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8. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
> Directed by: Tim Burton
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.2/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.7/10
7. Nurse Betty (2000)
> Directed by: Neil LaBute
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.2/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 5.4/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.2/10
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6. Drag Me to Hell (2009)
> Directed by: Sam Raimi
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.6/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.6/10
5. Chicken Run (2000)
> Directed by: Peter Lord, Nick Park
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 8.1/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6/10
> IMDb audience rating: 7/10
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4. Antz (1998)
> Directed by: Eric Darnell, Tim Johnson
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.7/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.6/10
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3. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
> Directed by: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.7/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 5.2/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.4/10
2. Babe (1995)
> Directed by: Chris Noonan
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 8.3/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 6/10
> IMDb audience rating: 6.8/10
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1. Spy Kids (2001)
> Directed by: Robert Rodriguez
> Rotten Tomatoes critic rating: 7.2/10
> Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 5.2/10
> IMDb audience rating: 5.5/10
Detailed findings:
Perhaps critics’ greatest weakness is for children’s movies. Critics often identify such films as quality efforts, even though they may not watch them for fun outside the duties of their occupation. Approximately two out of every five films on our list were made for children or for family enjoyment. Critics have given exceptionally favorable reviews to films such as “Babe,” “Antz,” and “The Witches,” though none particularly resonated with audiences.
The movies on our list also include multiple examples of recent films by directors with major previous hits under their belts. Sofia Coppola’s remake of “The Beguiled,” Judd Apatow’s Amy Schumer vehicle “Trainwreck,” and the Coen Brothers’ “Hail, Caesar!” were particularly well reviewed by critics. In these cases, it’s possible that critics were more open to new films by trusted directors than audiences were.
One courtesy that is not extended to critics in the same way it is to audiences is the ability to reevaluate initial ratings. Film critics generally write their reviews upon a film’s release and that opinion does not publicly change. Online ratings from moviegoers, on the other hand, can be frequently adjusted. Therefore, films that were cultural touchstones upon their release – such as “Saturday Night Fever” and “The Blair Witch Project” – have extremely high critic ratings and lackluster audience support.
Methodology:
To determine the films critics love but audiences hate, 24/7 Wall St. calculated the difference between each film’s average user rating and average critic rating. The average user rating was calculated as an average of a given film’s Rotten Tomatoes’ audience rating, and IMDb’s average user rating, weighted by the number of votes placed for each. Critic ratings were the average critic score from Rotten Tomatoes. To be considered, each film needed to have at least 10,000 user ratings on IMDb, 5,000 audience ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, and 10 approved tomatometer critic reviews.
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