Special Report

R-rated Movies America Loved, But Critics Hated

Courtesy of Paramount Classics

In recent years, the gap between audience and critic scores of new movies has been widening, with audiences favoring blockbusters more than reviewers do, according to Bloomberg,. Many films that are commercial successes and beloved by viewers are nevertheless lambasted by critics. (The opposite is also true. Here’s a list of R-rated movies loved by critics, hated by everybody else.)

To compile a list of R-rated movies America loved but critics hated, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on audience and critical reception from Rotten Tomatoes. R-rated movies were ranked based on the difference between each one’s Rotten Tomatoes audience score and Tomatometer (cumulative critics’) score. Only movies with an audience score of 75% or higher and a Tomatometer score less than 50% as of April 2023 were considered. Movies must also have at least 1,000 Rotten Tomatoes audience reviews, 10 Tomatometer critic reviews, and 10,000 user votes on IMDb. Documentaries were not considered. Cast and director credits are from IMDb.

Action movies, dramas, and thrillers are all represented, but comedies dominate the list. Many of these have developed a cult following, including “Super Troopers,” a slapstick comedy about a Vermont state police force; the teen-comedy parody “Wet Hot American Summer;” and the dark crime comedy “Party Monster,” a tale of depravity, excess, and murder based on the true story of New York club kid Michael Allig. (These are the highest-grossing R-rated comedies of all time.)

Click here for a list of 40 R-rated movies America loved, but critics hated

Also featured are stoner cult classics including “Half Baked” and both “Friday” sequels, “Next Friday” and “Friday After Next,” as well as Paris Barclay’s directorial debut, the 1996 parody of Black culture “Don’t Be a Menace,” starring Shawn and Marlon Wayans. Other notable Black directors whose films were loved more by audiences than by critics, include John Singleton, F. Gary Gray, and George Tillman, Jr.

Courtesy of USA Films

40. Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 37 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 75% (39,687 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 38% (76 reviews)
> Starring: Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Michael Showalter
> Directed by: David Wain

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Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

39. Stuber (2019)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 37 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79% (5,396 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 42% (230 reviews)
> Starring: Dave Bautista, Kumail Nanjiani, Mira Sorvino
> Directed by: Michael Dowse

Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

38. The Program (1993)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 37 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 80% (12,026 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 43% (21 reviews)
> Starring: James Caan, Halle Berry, Omar Epps
> Directed by: David S. Ward

Courtesy of Lions Gate Films

37. A Love Song for Bobby Long (2004)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 37 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 80% (22,431 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 43% (100 reviews)
> Starring: Scarlett Johansson, John Travolta, Gabriel Macht
> Directed by: Shainee Gabel

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Courtesy of Amuse

36. Spun (2002)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 38 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 75% (56,701 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 37% (79 reviews)
> Starring: Jason Schwartzman, John Leguizamo, Patrick Fugit
> Directed by: Jonas Åkerlund

Courtesy of Go Fish Pictures

35. The Chumscrubber (2005)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 38 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 75% (39,537 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 37% (60 reviews)
> Starring: Jamie Bell, Allison Janney, Rory Culkin
> Directed by: Arie Posin

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Courtesy of New Line Cinema

34. Running Scared (2006)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 38 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79% (135,422 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 41% (131 reviews)
> Starring: Paul Walker, Cameron Bright, Chazz Palminteri
> Directed by: Wayne Kramer

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

33. Men of Honor (2000)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 39 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (77,333 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 42% (106 reviews)
> Starring: Cuba Gooding Jr., Robert De Niro, Charlize Theron
> Directed by: George Tillman Jr.

Courtesy of Freestyle Releasing

32. Green Street Hooligans (2005)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 40 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (219,919 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 47% (64 reviews)
> Starring: Elijah Wood, Charlie Hunnam, Claire Forlani
> Directed by: Lexi Alexander

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Courtesy of Miramax

31. Equilibrium (2002)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 40 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (268,231 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 41% (91 reviews)
> Starring: Christian Bale, Sean Bean, Emily Watson
> Directed by: Kurt Wimmer

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

30. Great Expectations (1998)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 41 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 78% (47,565 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 37% (35 reviews)
> Starring: Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hank Azaria
> Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón

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Courtesy of New Line Cinema

29. Life as a House (2001)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 41 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (57,073 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 47% (105 reviews)
> Starring: Hayden Christensen, Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas
> Directed by: Irwin Winkler

Courtesy of Lionsgate Films

28. Waiting… (2005)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 45 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 75% (233,462 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 30% (92 reviews)
> Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Anna Faris, John Francis Daley
> Directed by: Rob McKittrick

Courtesy of Momentum Pictures

27. Forsaken (2015)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 45 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (4,214 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 42% (45 reviews)
> Starring: Esther Purves-Smith, Kiefer Sutherland, Donald Sutherland
> Directed by: Jon Cassar

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26. Party Monster (2003)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 46 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 75% (36,831 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 29% (79 reviews)
> Starring: Macaulay Culkin, Wilson Cruz, Seth Green
> Directed by: Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato

Courtesy of New Line Cinema

25. All About the Benjamins (2002)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 47 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 77% (34,521 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 30% (76 reviews)
> Starring: Ice Cube, Mike Epps, Tommy Flanagan
> Directed by: Kevin Bray

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Courtesy of Netflix

24. Anna (2019)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 47 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (2,226 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 34% (71 reviews)
> Starring: Sasha Luss, Helen Mirren, Luke Evans
> Directed by: Luc Besson

Courtesy of Paramount Classics

23. The United States of Leland (2003)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 47 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (30,380 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 34% (93 reviews)
> Starring: Ryan Gosling, Don Cheadle, Kevin Spacey
> Directed by: Matthew Ryan Hoge

Courtesy of Screen Gems

22. Underworld (2003)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 48 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79% (496,020 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 31% (162 reviews)
> Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Shane Brolly
> Directed by: Len Wiseman

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Courtesy of New Line Cinema

21. The Butterfly Effect (2004)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 48 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (623,433 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 33% (172 reviews)
> Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Melora Walters
> Directed by: Eric Bress & J. Mackye Gruber

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

20. Poetic Justice (1993)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 49 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 83% (38,446 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 34% (32 reviews)
> Starring: Janet Jackson, Tupac Shakur, Regina King
> Directed by: John Singleton

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Courtesy of New Line Cinema

19. Friday After Next (2002)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 49 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 75% (135,097 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 26% (72 reviews)
> Starring: Ice Cube, Mike Epps, John Witherspoon
> Directed by: Marcus Raboy

Courtesy of Overture Films

18. Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 49 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 75% (517,395 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 26% (162 reviews)
> Starring: Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Leslie Bibb
> Directed by: F. Gary Gray

Courtesy of Miramax

17. Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 49 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 80% (65,851 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 31% (26 reviews)
> Starring: Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans
> Directed by: Paris Barclay

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Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

16. Man on Fire (2004)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 51 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (423,695 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 38% (169 reviews)
> Starring: Denzel Washington, Christopher Walken, Dakota Fanning
> Directed by: Tony Scott

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

15. Half Baked (1998)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 52 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (194,284 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 29% (24 reviews)
> Starring: Dave Chappelle, Guillermo Dí­az, Jim Breuer
> Directed by: Tamra Davis

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Courtesy of Universal Pictures

14. How High (2001)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 53 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79% (67,118 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 26% (57 reviews)
> Starring: Method Man, Redman, Obba Babatundé
> Directed by: Jesse Dylan

Courtesy of New Line Cinema

13. Next Friday (2000)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 55 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 76% (181,653 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 21% (66 reviews)
> Starring: Ice Cube, Mike Epps, Justin Pierce
> Directed by: Steve Carr

Courtesy of Lionsgate

12. Angel Has Fallen (2019)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 55 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (14,674 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 38% (188 reviews)
> Starring: Gerard Butler, Frederick Schmidt, Danny Huston
> Directed by: Ric Roman Waugh

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Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

11. Super Troopers (2001)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 55 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (262,930 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 35% (89 reviews)
> Starring: Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, André Vippolis
> Directed by: Jay Chandrasekhar

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

10. Bad Boys II (2003)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 55 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 78% (502,048 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 23% (185 reviews)
> Starring: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Gabrielle Union
> Directed by: Michael Bay

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Courtesy of Lionsgate

9. Rambo: Last Blood (2019)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 56 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (8,121 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 26% (172 reviews)
> Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Paz Vega, Sergio Peris-Mencheta
> Directed by: Adrian Grunberg

Courtesy of Lionsgate

8. Jigsaw (2017)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 57 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (29,519 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 32% (90 reviews)
> Starring: Matt Passmore, Tobin Bell, Callum Keith Rennie
> Directed by: Michael & Peter Spierig

Courtesy of Netflix

7. Hillbilly Elegy (2020)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 58 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 83% (2,309 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 25% (249 reviews)
> Starring: Amy Adams, Glenn Close, Gabriel Basso
> Directed by: Ron Howard

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Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

6. Harlem Nights (1989)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 59 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 80% (34,486 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 21% (34 reviews)
> Starring: Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx
> Directed by: Eddie Murphy

Courtesy of New Line Cinema

5. Shaft (2019)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 61 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (7,727 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 33% (129 reviews)
> Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Jessie T. Usher, Richard Roundtree
> Directed by: Tim Story

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Courtesy of Universal Pictures

4. The Life of David Gale (2003)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 62 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (60,988 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 19% (157 reviews)
> Starring: Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet, Laura Linney
> Directed by: Alan Parker

Courtesy of Indican Pictures

3. The Boondock Saints (1999)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 63 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (335,578 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 28% (29 reviews)
> Starring: Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus
> Directed by: Troy Duffy

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

2. Grandma’s Boy (2006)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 69 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (226,305 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 16% (62 reviews)
> Starring: Allen Covert, Linda Cardellini, Shirley Jones
> Directed by: Nicholaus Goossen

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Courtesy of Artisan Entertainment

1. Belly (1998)
> Difference between audience and Tomatometer score: 71 % pts.
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (34,290 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 16% (19 reviews)
> Starring: Nas, DMX, Taral Hicks
> Directed by: Hype Williams

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