How Does Rotten Tomatoes Work?

Rotten Tomatoes is a popular website and app that provides movie reviews and ratings. It’s one of the most trusted sources of movie information online, and its Tomatometer score is often used as a benchmark for a movie’s quality.

But how does Rotten Tomatoes work? In this article, we’ll take a look behind the scenes to see how Rotten Tomatoes determines its Tomatometer score and other ratings.

The Tomatometer

The Tomatometer is Rotten Tomatoes’ most famous rating system. It’s a percentage that represents the percentage of positive reviews a movie has received.

To calculate the Tomatometer score, Rotten Tomatoes collects reviews from a panel of approved critics. These critics are all professional film critics who write for major publications, such as The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, and Variety.

Once Rotten Tomatoes has collected a sufficient number of reviews for a movie, it calculates the Tomatometer score by dividing the number of positive reviews by the total number of reviews and multiplying the result by 100.

Other Ratings

In addition to the Tomatometer, Rotten Tomatoes also provides other ratings, such as the Audience Score and the Freshness Rating.

Audience Score: The Audience Score is a percentage that represents the percentage of users who have given a movie a positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Freshness Rating: The Freshness Rating is a percentage that represents the percentage of critics who have given a movie a positive review.

How to Use Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes is a valuable resource for movie fans. It can help you find new movies to watch, decide whether or not to see a movie in theaters, and get a sense of what other people think of a movie.

Here are a few tips for using Rotten Tomatoes:

Read the reviews: Don’t just look at the Tomatometer score. Read the reviews to get a sense of what critics and audiences are saying about a movie.
Consider the source: Not all reviews are created equal. When you’re reading a review, consider the source. Is it a reputable publication? Is the reviewer a respected critic?
Use Rotten Tomatoes as a starting point: Rotten Tomatoes is a great resource, but it’s not the only one. There are other websites and apps that provide movie reviews and ratings. Use Rotten Tomatoes as a starting point, and then do some additional research to get a more well-rounded view of a movie.