Critics Hate This Year’s Biggest Blockbuster Movies

One of the biggest topics of conversation on social media and message boards currently is the rating of Man Of Steel on Rotten Tomatoes. As a movie that many have declared as one of the best comic book movies ever made, it's been rather surprising to see the number of critics that do not like the film. As we pointed out yesterday, Man Of Steel even has a lower freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes than Superman Returns. However, comparing current movies to past movies is likely flawed for one big reason. The new trend among critics seems to be hating on blockbuster movies. Many of the criticisms thrown at Man Of Steel revolve around the simple fact that it is a blockbuster movie. In fact, a quick look at the top ten highest-grossing movies in the United States so far in 2013 reveal that critics did not like the majority of them. According to Rotten Tomatoes, a film has to remain above 70% on the Tomatometer to be classified as Certified Fresh. Seven of the top ten blockbusters of 2013 are below a 70% freshness rating. The Croods, The Great Gatsby, Identity Thief, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, The Hangover Part III, Olympus Has Fallen, and Oz The Great And Powerful have all taken a beating from critics. Even most of the movies that did achieve a Certified Fresh rating didn't make it by much. Iron Man 3 sits at 78% fresh, while Fast & Furious 6 sits at 72% fresh. In fact, only one single movie in the top ten highest grossing movies of the year so far has a freshness rating above 80%. Star Trek Into Darkness has a freshness rating of 87%. When we compared this back to the top ten blockbusters of 2012, we found the inverse. Of the top ten blockbusters of 2012, seven of the top ten were Certified Fresh by critics. Only three out of ten fell below the 70% freshness ratings. So either Hollywood is really putting out a lot of low quality movies this year, or there is a critical backlash going on against blockbuster movies. Looking at some of the 2013 movies so far, it's probably the case that a little bit of both is true. Update: Just to clarify as we've gotten a couple of emails, Rotten Tomatoes does say that for a film to be classified as Certified Fresh, it has to maintain 70% or above on it's Tomatometer. If it falls below 70%, it is apparently no longer certified, and then it become rotten below 60%. By the definition of Certified Fresh, the numbers above are accurate. By the classification of "rotten," there would be one rotten movie in the top 10 in 2012, and 6 rotten movies in the top 10 in 2013. 2013 Highest Grossing Movies Iron Man 3 – 78% fresh Oz The Great And Powerful – 59% fresh Fast & Furious 6 – 72% fresh Star Trek Into Darkness – 87% fresh The Croods – 69% fresh The Great Gatsby – 50% fresh Identity Thief – 20% fresh G.I. Joe: Retaliation – 28% fresh The Hangover Part III – 20% fresh Olympus Has Fallen – 47% fresh 2012 Highest Grossing Movies The Avengers - 92% fresh The Dark Knight Rises - 87% fresh The Hunger Games - 85% fresh Skyfall - 92% fresh The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - 65% fresh The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 - 48% fresh The Amazing Spider-Man - 73% fresh Brave - 78% fresh Ted - 69% fresh Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted - 79% fresh