Special Report

R-Rated Movies Loved by Critics, Hated by Everybody Else

Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

Film critics typically rate films more, well, critically than general audiences do. Occasionally, however, a film is lauded by the professionals but seems to fall flat with the majority of viewers. This can be true of animated family films, action blockbusters, and independent dramas alike. R-rated films, which tend to offer directors more creative leeway than those with more family-friendly ratings, are not immune to being underappreciated by fans despite receiving critical acclaim. (Here are 20 R-rated movies with a perfect critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes.)

To assemble a list of R-rated movies loved by critics but hated by audiences, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on both audience and critical reception according to Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator. R-rated movies were ranked based on the difference between their Rotten Tomatoes audience score and Tomatometer (critics) score. Only movies with at least 500 audience reviews, a Tomatometer score of 75% or higher. and an audience score of less than 50% as of April 2023 were considered. Documentaries were not considered. Cast and director credits are from IMDb, an online movie and TV database owned by Amazon.

Click here for a list of R-rated movies loved by critics, hated by audiences

The list features many independent films, like actress Joey Lauren Adams’s moving directorial debut “Come Early Morning,” starring Ashley Judd as a bar regular who has a habit of quietly sneaking out after one-night-stands, and Michael Lichtenstein’s cult classic “Teeth,” about a teenage girl who discovers that she has a mutation that serves as a natural defense against sexual assaults. 

Award-winning directors like Kathryn Bigelow, Brian DePalma, Noah Baumbach, Claire Denis, and Steven Soderbergh are on the list, as are actors-turned-directors Jason Bateman and Nick Cassavetes. Horror masters Ti West and Mike Flanagan have also contributed films to the list. In fact, many of the films featured are horror films. (These are the best R-rated movies of all time.) 

Courtesy of Miramax

40. Unhook the Stars (1996)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 33 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 81% (21 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 48% (1,200 votes)
> Starring: Gena Rowlands, Marisa Tomei, Gerard Depardieu
> Directed by: Nick Cassavetes

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of MGM Home Entertainment

39. Cop (1988)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 34 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (18 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 49% (1,950 votes)
> Starring: James Woods, Lesley Ann Warren, Charles Durning
> Directed by: James B. Harris

Courtesy of New World Pictures

38. Big Bad Mama (1974)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 34 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 75% (16 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 41% (4,325 votes)
> Starring: Angie Dickinson, William Shatner, Tom Skerritt
> Directed by: Steve Carver

Courtesy of Focus Features

37. Greenberg (2010)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 34 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 76% (176 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 42% (36,821 votes)
> Starring: Ben Stiller, Greta Gerwig, Jennifer Jason Leigh
> Directed by: Noah Baumbach

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Bold Films

36. Come Early Morning (2006)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 35 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 84% (49 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 49% (4,743 votes)
> Starring: Ashley Judd, Jeffrey Donovan, Tim Blake Nelson
> Directed by: Joey Lauren Adams

Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

35. Drinking Buddies (2013)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 35 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 84% (122 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 49% (23,861 votes)
> Starring: Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick
> Directed by: Joe Swanberg

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Roadside Attractions

34. Teeth (2007)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 35 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 80% (70 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 45% (34,927 votes)
> Starring: Jess Weixler, John Hensley, Josh Pais
> Directed by: Mitchell Lichtenstein

Courtesy of The Film Arcade

33. Goat (2016)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 35 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 79% (77 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 44% (4,017 votes)
> Starring: Ben Schnetzer, Nick Jonas, Gus Halper
> Directed by: Andrew Neel

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

32. The Informant! (2009)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 35 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 79% (233 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 44% (359,292 votes)
> Starring: Matt Damon, Tony Hale, Patton Oswalt
> Directed by: Steven Soderbergh

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Starz Digital Media

31. The Family Fang (2015)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 36 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (82 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 47% (4,496 votes)
> Starring: Jason Bateman, Nicole Kidman, Kathryn Hahn
> Directed by: Jason Bateman

Courtesy of Momentum Pictures

30. Mom and Dad (2017)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 36 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 75% (137 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 39% (1,603 votes)
> Starring: Nicolas Cage, Selma Blair, Anne Winters
> Directed by: Brian Taylor

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of World Northal

29. Strange Behavior (1981)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 36 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 80% (10 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 44% (501 votes)
> Starring: Michael Murphy, Louise Fletcher, Dan Shor
> Directed by: Michael Laughlin

Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

28. Entertainment (2015)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 37 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 82% (55 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 45% (1,851 votes)
> Starring: Gregg Turkington, John C. Reilly, Tye Sheridan
> Directed by: Rick Alverson

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

27. Eyewitness (1981)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 37 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 75% (12 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 38% (1,866 votes)
> Starring: William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Christopher Plummer
> Directed by: Peter Yates

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Magnet Releasing

26. The Innkeepers (2011)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 37 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 79% (121 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 42% (93,108 votes)
> Starring: Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, Kelly McGillis
> Directed by: Ti West

Courtesy of USA Films

25. Nurse Betty (2000)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 38 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (130 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 45% (35,297 votes)
> Starring: Renée Zellweger, Morgan Freeman, Chris Rock
> Directed by: Neil LaBute

[in-text-ad]

Mike Windle / Getty Images

24. Absentia (2011)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 38 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 87% (15 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 49% (1,466 votes)
> Starring: Katie Parker, Courtney Bell, Dave Levine
> Directed by: Mike Flanagan

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

23. Splice (2009)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 38 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 75% (197 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 37% (252,017 votes)
> Starring: Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chanéac
> Directed by: Vincenzo Natali

Courtesy of GoDigital

22. Tales of Halloween (2015)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 38 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 79% (52 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 41% (1,281 votes)
> Starring: Adrienne Barbeau, Hunter Smit, Cameron Easton
> Directed by: Darren Lynn Bousman, et al.

[in-text-ad-2]

Donna Ward / Getty Images

21. The Lovers (2017)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 39 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 82% (114 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 43% (2,513 votes)
> Starring: Debra Winger, Tracy Letts, Aidan Gillen
> Directed by: Azazel Jacobs

Darren McCollester / Getty Images

20. The Object of Beauty (1991)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 39 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 77% (13 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 38% (1,566 votes)
> Starring: John Malkovich, Andie MacDowell
> Directed by: Michael Lindsay-Hogg

[in-text-ad]

Jason Merritt/TERM / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

19. Happy Christmas (2014)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 39 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 76% (79 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 37% (7,777 votes)
> Starring: Eldar Kim, Anna Kendrick, Melanie Lynskey
> Directed by: Joe Swanberg

Courtesy of MGM/UA Distribution Company

18. Blue Steel (1990)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 39 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 75% (24 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 36% (8,749 votes)
> Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Ron Silver, Clancy Brown
> Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow

Courtesy of Relativity Media

17. Haywire (2011)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 39 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 80% (199 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 41% (43,409 votes)
> Starring: Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender
> Directed by: Steven Soderbergh

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of A24

16. High Life (2018)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 40 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 82% (235 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 42% (1,141 votes)
> Starring: Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, André 3000
> Directed by: Claire Denis

Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

15. The Mighty Quinn (1989)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 40 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 88% (16 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 48% (6,253 votes)
> Starring: Denzel Washington, Robert Townsend, James Fox
> Directed by: Carl Schenkel

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Lionsgate Home Entertainment

14. The Burrowers (2008)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 41 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 75% (12 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 34% (10,871 votes)
> Starring: Clancy Brown, David Busse, Harley Coriz
> Directed by: J.T. Petty

Courtesy of A24

13. It Comes at Night (2017)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 43 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 87% (255 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 44% (20,197 votes)
> Starring: Joel Edgerton, Christopher Abbott, Carmen Ejogo
> Directed by: Trey Edward Shults

Courtesy of Netflix

12. I Care a Lot (2020)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 43 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 78% (216 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 35% (3,812 votes)
> Starring: Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage, Eiza González
> Directed by: J Blakeson

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Alchemy

11. The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 43 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (11 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 48% (1,867 votes)
> Starring: Jill Larson, Anne Ramsay, Michelle Ang
> Directed by: Adam Robitel

Michael Ochs Archives / Moviepix via Getty Images

10. Goodbye, Columbus (1969)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 44 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (12 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 48% (1,116 votes)
> Starring: Richard Benjamin, Ali MacGraw, Jack Klugman
> Directed by: Larry Peerce

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Cinedigm Entertainment Group

9. Night Moves (2013)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 45 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (153 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 41% (12,251 votes)
> Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning, Peter Sarsgaard
> Directed by: Kelly Reichardt

Courtesy of A24

8. Gloria Bell (2018)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 45 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (206 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 46% (625 votes)
> Starring: Julianne Moore, John Turturro, Caren Pistorius
> Directed by: Sebastián Lelio

Courtesy of Redbox Entertainment

7. Shadow in the Cloud (2020)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 45 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 77% (122 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 32% (950 votes)
> Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson, Beulah Koale
> Directed by: Roseanne Liang

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Sigma III Corp.

6. Greetings (1968)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 47 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 88% (17 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 41% (1,580 votes)
> Starring: Jonathan Warden, Robert De Niro, Gerrit Graham
> Directed by: Brian De Palma

Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

5. Results (2015)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 48 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 84% (96 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 36% (3,587 votes)
> Starring: Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders, Kevin Corrigan
> Directed by: Andrew Bujalski

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Company

4. Breaking In (1989)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 48 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90% (10 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 42% (1,311 votes)
> Starring: Burt Reynolds, Casey Siemaszko, Sheila Kelley
> Directed by: Bill Forsyth

Courtesy of The Film Arcade

3. Enemies Closer (2013)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 50 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 79% (14 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 29% (1,404 votes)
> Starring: Tom Everett Scott, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Orlando Jones
> Directed by: Peter Hyams

Courtesy of United Artists

2. Semi-Tough (1977)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 51 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 82% (11 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 31% (1,307 votes)
> Starring: Burt Reynolds, Kris Kristofferson, Jill Clayburgh
> Directed by: Michael Ritchie

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of A24

1. The Souvenir (2019)
> Difference between Tomatometer and audience score: 54 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 89% (175 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 35% (545 votes)
> Starring: Neil Young, Tosin Cole, Jack McMullen
> Directed by: Joanna Hogg

Get Ready To Retire (Sponsored)

Start by taking a quick retirement quiz from SmartAsset that will match you with up to 3 financial advisors that serve your area and beyond in 5 minutes, or less.

Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests.

Here’s how it works:
1. Answer SmartAsset advisor match quiz
2. Review your pre-screened matches at your leisure. Check out the advisors’ profiles.
3. Speak with advisors at no cost to you. Have an introductory call on the phone or introduction in person and choose whom to work with in the future

Get started right here.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.