Believe it or not, film and television review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has created somewhat of a confusion in Hollywood, by compiling both audience and critic opinions to evaluate a project’s quality. Hugh Jackman’s underrated 2017 movie The Greatest Showman recently became the biggest example of this divisive gap in ratings, after a netizen pointed it out on X.
Considering how Rotten Tomatoes often features the critics’ reviews and ratings on a project’s display, by completely overlooking the audience score—one user on X highlighted how Hugh Jackman’s The Greatest Showman has earned a massive 86% approval from audiences. Meanwhile, his Oscar-winning Les Misérables which garnered massive appreciation from critics, earned lesser ratings from audiences compared to the 2017 movie.
Hugh Jackman’s Underrated Movie Earned Better Audience Approval Than Les Misérables
In the world of film criticism, it has often come to notice that audiences know what they love, even when critics don’t quite get it. Well, this couldn’t be more true for Hugh Jackman’s The Greatest Showman, which recently sparked a fascinating debate online. According to a discussion on X about the stark difference between audience and critics’ scores on Rotten Tomatoes, one user highlighted how critics got it awfully wrong about Jackman’s 2017 musical.
Sharing a screenshot of how Rotten Tomatoes simply features the critics’ scores on a project’s display site, @CinematicPause informed fans about how Hugh Jackman’s The Greatest Showman had earned overwhelming support from fans who gave the film a remarkable 86% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to the critic score of 57%. This particularly raised eyebrows when compared to Jackman’s Oscar-winning Les Misérables.
While Les Misérables earned a staggering 70% approval rating from critics, the movie stumbled at the audience score, as seen in Rotten Tomatoes, the 2012 Oscar-winning movie received a 79% audience score which is strikingly less than The Greatest Showman’s 86% approval rating from moviegoers. So it seems that while critics preferred the historical drama, fans enjoyed the dazzling choreography and costume design of the 2017 movie.
Netizens are Bewildered by the Stark Difference in Rotten Tomatoes’ Critics vs Audience Score
Now, the disparity between critic and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes has ignited a firestorm of discussion among movie buffs, after @CinematicPause highlighted the stark difference in score between Hugh Jackman’s The Greatest Showman and his Oscar-winning Les Misérables. This particular post drew attention to this intriguing mismatch, which led netizens to express their disbelief.
Considering how critics were quick to disapprove of The Greatest Showman‘s bold leap into the world of P.T. Barnum, celebrating the birth of show business—fans expressed disappointment over how Rotten Tomatoes overshadowed audiences score by critical reviews. Meanwhile, after the user highlighted the difference between the ratings, people further embraced the 2017 film’s heart and spectacle.
According to Collider, while the film’s inaccurate take on the real-life showman led to a drop in ratings from critics, audience scores witnessed a surge, since moviegoers weren’t bothered by the historical inaccuracies. Even on a recent note, social media users passionately debated the merits of the film arguing that The Greatest Showman offered the lively spirit that audiences crave, and the uplifting journey that resonated with dreamers.
The Greatest Showman is currently available to watch on Disney+.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
