Rotten Tomatoes Adds New Rating

Rotten Tomatoes is adding a new rating to their film criticism site — the equivalent of its “Certified Fresh” but for fans and moviegoers instead of film critics.

The long-running review aggregator announced today the introduction of its “Verified Hot” badge, which will be bestowed upon films that are popular with the site’s users. According to Rotten Tomatoes’ own announcement, to qualify as “Verified Hot” the film must get a “Verified Audience Score of 90 percent or higher on the Popcornmeter and meet a set of eligibility requirements” — including a minimum of 500 verified ratings for a wide release (or 250 for a limited release).

To earn the “Certified Fresh” designation, which is often seen on movie posters and advertisements, movies need a score from film critics of 75 percent or higher (including five top critics), with at least 80 reviews for wide releases and 40 reviews for limited or streaming movies.

READ MORE: Famous Movies That Got a 0 On Rotten Tomatoes

Films that have now earned the “Verified Hot” brand include critical favorites like Top Gun: Maverick, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, and Deadpool & Wolverine.

Looking over the list of titles earning this new designation, though, I also see a bunch of films that were rated “Rotten” by critics, including Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Uncharted, and Shaft. It does strike me as a bit odd that a website dedicated to film criticism would want to award movies that fared poorly with film critics — and I absolutely think there is the potential for major confusion among consumers between “Certified Fresh” and “Verified Hot.”

Why one would court such confusion, I cannot say. But I am fairly certain movies that don’t earn a “Certified Fresh” but do get a “Verified Hot” will soon start bandying that phrase about in their trailers, as if it meant they got good reviews on Rotten Tomatoes — which is technically not quite true.