THB #375: The Rotten Tomatoes Fallacy

Statistics are funny things.

We can all manipulate them, shaped to whatever narrative we prefer.

Here are some funny stats about Rotten Tomatoes scores, based on last year’s (2022) 101 domestic studio theatrical releases (inc, Studio Dependents, Lionsgate, Neon, and A24).

The average title with a 90 or better score grossed $53.4 million.
The average title that was “Rotten” (under 60) grossed $58.3 million.

The stat actually gets worse if you limit it to under a 30 RT score… average $67.3 million.

Of course this is a stat that barely seems to make sense. The big revenue skew-er that scored under 30 was Jurassic World: Domination. But also in the high end, there are 2 big grossers, Top Gun: Maverick and Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, bending the numbers of films that are highly rated.

Of the 101 titles in my little survey, leaning into the alleged horror show of studio movies, 46 had a rating of 80 or better and only 24 had “Rotten” scores of under 60. There were 27 right there in the middle…