The Decomposition of Rotten Tomatoes
www.vulture.com
The most overrated metric in entertainment is erratic, reductive, and easily hacked — and yet has Hollywood in its grip.

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An interesting read, this linked article, which confirms what we’ve suspected (knew?) for some time now. Don’t tell me you believe Amazon product reviews too…?

From the linked article…

…in February, the Tomatometer score for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania debuted at 79 percent…after more critics had weighed in, its rating sank into the 40s. Quantumania had the best opening weekend of any movie in the Ant-Man series, at $106 million. In its second weekend, with its rottenness more firmly established, the film’s grosses slid 69 percent, the steepest drop-off in Marvel history.

“The studios didn’t invent Rotten Tomatoes, and most of them don’t like it,” says the filmmaker Paul Schrader. “But the system is broken. Audiences are dumber. Normal people don’t go through reviews like they used to. Rotten Tomatoes is something the studios can game. So they do.”

…Quentin Tarantino…admitted that he no longer reads critics’ work. “I’m told, ‘Manohla Dargis, she’s excellent.’ But when I ask what are the three movies she loved and the three she hated in the last few years, no one can answer me. Because they don’t care!”

Bonus MovieSnob LinkMonkey™ link: Scorsese’s article on Rotten Tomatoes, and box office obsession. Spoiler Alert: Scorsese talks about the film mother! and may reveal a little too much for those who haven’t yet seen it.

  • King MongooseOPMEnglish
    1•1 year ago

    Wow…that photo is really disgusting.

    Three things to add, all aimed squarely at Paul Schraeder…

    1. as much as I like and respect Schraeder’s work, I feel his above comment displays his being a bit…out of touch. I can’t help picturing Schraeder picturing the producers and director, maybe the leads too, all gathered late night in a corner booth at the Brown Derby or Musso’s, clutching a hot-off-the-presses newspaper anxiously searching for their film’s review by Rex Reed or Pauline Kael. For better or worse, the world don’t work like that no more.
    2. I don’t think “normal people” ever went through the reviews “like they used to,” even when print used to be more of an influence. I may be wrong but…
    3. much as I snicker in agreement with Schraeder’s assessment of audiences today (did you not see the name of this community?), I don’t know if I’d go on record saying that.

    EDIT, 7 Sept 2023, 13:14:59, CEST: stupid typographical errors.