Rotten Tomatoes Adds New ‘Verified Hot’ Audience Badge for Fan-Approved Movies

August 21, 2024 @ 9:09 AM

Rotten Tomatoes, the aggregate review site that describes itself as “the world’s most trusted destination for entertainment reviews and recommendations,” has launched Rotten Tomatoes Verified Hot, “a brand-new elevated designation and badge honoring the best-verified reviewed theatrical films by fans.” This is the audience equivalent of the Certified Fresh Tomatometer badge, which the site says is “awarded to the highest reviewed films by professional critics” and the thing your best friend from college cites for his reason to see (or not see) whatever movie is out.

Verified Hot, according to the official release, is “awarded to theatrical films that achieve a Verified Audience Score of 90% or higher on the Popcornmeter, and meet other eligibility requirements,” although what those requirements are remains unspecified.

The inaugural list of Verified Hot summer movies includes “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” “Deadpool & Wolverine,” “Fly Me to the Moon,” “Inside Out 2,” “Twisters” and “It Ends with Us.” Starting Wednesday, if you visit the site you will see “a full red popcorn bucket with a ‘Hot’ label if 60% or more of the audience rates the title with 3.5 stars or higher, while a green tipped-over popcorn bucket will now be labeled ‘Stale,’ when less than 60% of the audience provides a rating of 3.5 stars or higher.”

The label has been retroactively added to 200 titles that meet the bar.

“On Rotten Tomatoes, fans love to consult our verified audience score, in addition to the Tomatometer critics’ score, when discovering new movies and deciding what they want to watch next,” said Amanda Norvell, SVP, Direct-to-Consumer Services at Fandango, in an official statement. “With the addition of Rotten Tomatoes Verified Hot, we are excited to celebrate and shine a spotlight on the theatrical films that fans have unanimously embraced and have taken the time to share their incredible moviegoing experience with other fans.”

Additionally, , Rotten Tomatoes “is honoring the films that have resonated the most with audiences across the globe since the launch of Verified Audience Ratings and Reviews in May 2019.” (“Verified” reviews mean that Rotten Tomatoes can confirm the rating if the person had purchased a ticket for that film through Fandango.) Rotten Tomatoes has published a full list of Verified Hot titles on the site, which include modern classics like “Father Stu,” “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot,” “Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist” and “Plane.”

Rotten Tomatoes’ new Popcornmeter

The site has also updated the criterion for when the Popcornmeter and Tomatometer scores populate on the site, “to provide a more accurate reflection of audience and critical sentiment.”

Per the outlet, both scores will now need to meet a new minimum number of reviews published on the site for a score to appear and the review threshold “will be determined by the film’s total projected domestic box office forecast.”