Rotten Tomatoes

What Rotten Tomatoes does

Rotten Tomatoes is a U.S.-headquartered movie and television review aggregation platform founded in 1998 and operated as part of Fandango, a private joint venture majority-owned by Versant Media and minority-owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Its core product is the Tomatometer, a critic-aggregation score representing the percentage of positive reviews from hundreds of Tomatometer-approved critics worldwide, complemented by the Popcornmeter audience rating system and designations such as Certified Fresh and Verified Hot. Since 2019 the platform has run a Verified Reviews program that links audience submissions to confirmed Fandango ticket purchases, providing an authenticity layer that other review aggregators cannot replicate. In May 2025 Rotten Tomatoes launched aRTi, a text-based AI recommendation assistant grounded in its proprietary review corpus and editorial content.

The platform is monetized through two streams: advertising on its owned web and mobile surfaces, and licensing of Tomatometer scores, brand, and review data to third-party platforms including Fandango, Netflix, Apple TV+, Prime Video, and HBO Max. The consumer product is free, with no paid tiers or subscription; the iOS and Android apps and the aRTi assistant are currently U.S.-only, while the website serves a global audience. Distribution is primarily direct-to-consumer via self-serve web and mobile, with deep OEM-style integration into Fandango's ticketing flow and licensed embedding across streaming partners. Customer segments include individual entertainment enthusiasts (primary) and entertainment-industry stakeholders such as studios and distributors (secondary), with editorial content (newsletter, podcast, best-of lists, awards coverage) used as a top-of-funnel engagement and retention layer.

Name

Rotten Tomatoes

Legal name

Fandango Media, LLC

Website

https://rottentomatoes.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Rotten Tomatoes is a U.S. movie and TV review aggregation platform that aggregates hundreds of critics' reviews into the Tomatometer score, pairs them with verified audience ratings, and licenses its data to Fandango and streaming partners while serving millions of entertainment consumers via web, mobile app, and editorial content.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Entertainment Review Aggregation

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Distribution (51212)

SIC

Services-Allied To Motion Picture Distribution (7829)

akta.pro primary industry

Fieldwork & Data Collection (Online Panels, CATI/CAPI, Fieldwork) (MPAAALAD)

Keywords

• Movie review aggregation
• Critic ratings platform
• Audience sentiment tracking
• Entertainment content discovery
• Film scoring system

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Advertising: Rotten Tomatoes generates revenue through advertising on its website and app, including display ads, sponsored content, and promotional placements within editorial features and guides.
2. Licensing and Data Services: Rotten Tomatoes licenses its Tomatometer scores, brand, and review data to third-party platforms including Fandango, streaming services, and other entertainment platforms that display ratings alongside content.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Rotten Tomatoes operates a movie and TV review aggregation platform that combines professional critic consensus (Tomatometer) with verified audience ratings (Popcornmeter) to provide trusted entertainment recommendations. The platform supports content discovery through editorial guides, streaming integration with services like Netflix, Apple TV+, and Prime Video, ticket-verified reviews via Fandango, and the aRTi AI-powered recommendation assistant.

Product overview

Rotten Tomatoes is a movie and TV review aggregation platform operated by Fandango (a joint venture of Versant Media and Warner Bros. Discovery). The platform's core offerings include the Tomatometer, which aggregates critic reviews, and the Popcornmeter, which captures audience ratings. These are supported by Verified Reviews (ticket-verified audience feedback), Certified Fresh and Verified Hot designations for high-quality content, and the aRTi AI assistant for personalized recommendations. The platform also offers a mobile app for iOS and Android, streaming integration with services like Netflix, Apple TV+, Prime Video, Fandango at Home, and HBO Max for content discovery, plus editorial content including news, guides, and interviews. The system serves as a trusted measurement of critical recommendation and audience sentiment for millions of entertainment fans.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Tomatometer: The Tomatometer score system that aggregates film and TV critic reviews to provide a percentage rating
• Popcornmeter
• Certified Fresh
• Golden Tomato Awards
• aRTi
• Tomatoes App

Products and services

• Tomatometer The Tomatometer is Rotten Tomatoes' signature critic review aggregation score, representing the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show. It aggregates reviews from hundreds of Tomatometer-approved critics worldwide and classifies titles as Fresh (60%+), Rotten (59% and below), or Certified Fresh.
• Popcornmeter The Popcornmeter is Rotten Tomatoes' audience rating system that calculates ratings from user-submitted reviews and star ratings, providing a complementary audience perspective to the critic-based Tomatometer.
• Rotten Tomatoes Mobile App The Rotten Tomatoes mobile application for iOS and Android provides a mobile-friendly experience for discovering movies and TV, including scores, reviews, celebrity interviews, trailers, entertainment news, personal watchlists, ratings, and reviews. Currently only available in the United States.
• aRTi AI Assistant aRTi is the platform's official AI-powered recommendation assistant that helps users discover what to watch and where to watch it by leveraging Tomatometer and Popcornmeter scores, critic and audience reviews, and RT editorial guides. Available on the Rotten Tomatoes App and web for U.S. users.
• Movies at Home / Streaming Discovery Streaming integration feature that allows users to browse movies available on various streaming platforms including Fandango at Home, Netflix, Apple TV+, Prime Video, and HBO Max, with filtering and discovery across services.
• Rotten Tomatoes Editorial Content Editorial content including movie and TV news, reviews, guides, interviews, and curated lists such as Binge Guide, Countdown, Weekend Box Office, and What to Watch, curated by RT editors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Rotten Tomatoes is trusted by millions of fans globally as a measurement of critical recommendation

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability3 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• ReelAbilities Film Festival: New YorkminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 April 2026The 18th annual ReelAbilities Film Festival features a Rotten Tomatoes audience award as part of its programming. The festival runs April 23–30, 2026, presenting over 30 films across 20 venues, focusing on disability rights themes.
• FandangocoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerFandango operates Rotten Tomatoes as a subsidiary, integrating Tomatometer scores and verified review functionality into its ticket purchasing platform. Fandango is a joint venture with Versant as majority owner and Warner Bros. Discovery as minority owner.
• FandangocoreTechnology or IntegrationThe verified review system on Rotten Tomatoes relies on Fandango ticket purchase verification. Reviews are marked 'Verified' when the user's account email matches their Fandango purchase, ensuring authentic audience reviews from confirmed ticket buyers.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• IMDb: Long-standing entertainment data platform with user ratings, critic reviews, and comprehensive film/TV metadata. Competes with Rotten Tomatoes on audience ratings, discovery, and the 'trusted' measurement of entertainment quality.
• JustWatch: Streaming-availability search engine with critic/audience scoring integrated across platforms. Directly comparable to RT's Movies at Home feature for cross-platform streaming discovery and decision-making.
• Letterboxd: Social film-reviewing platform with user ratings, reviews, and lists. Overlaps with Rotten Tomatoes on movie ratings/reviews but differentiates via a stronger cinephile social community and limited TV coverage.
• Metacritic: Direct competitor aggregating critic and user reviews/scores for film, TV, music, and games. Most analogous service to Rotten Tomatoes in scoring methodology (normalized critic scores, audience scores) and target use case (pre-viewing decision).
• Fandango: Rotten Tomatoes' parent company and movie ticketing platform that displays Tomatometer scores inline. Comparable as a movie-discovery-and-transaction platform but with stronger emphasis on ticketing rather than review aggregation.

Emerging players

• Reelgood: Streaming aggregator that surfaces where to watch content across services. Adjacent to RT's Movies at Home, but more focused on availability search than critic/audience scoring.
• MUBI: Curated film streaming service with editorial programming and a hand-picked catalog. Overlaps with RT on the editorial film-discovery side but operates as a curated streaming destination rather than a review aggregator.
• Common Sense Media: Reviews and age-based ratings for films, TV, and other media with a focus on family/parent decision-making. Partial overlap with RT on review aggregation but specialized on suitability for children and families.
• The Movie Database (TMDb): Community-driven movie/TV metadata and rating platform widely used as a data source for apps and streaming services. Comparable to RT as an open rating/data layer but differs in being community-edited rather than critic-led.

Broad incumbents

• Box Office Mojo: Film-industry data platform (owned by IMDb/Amazon) tracking theatrical box office, grosses, and performance benchmarks. Adjacent to RT's Weekend Box Office editorial coverage; comparable as a film-data utility with industry rather than consumer emphasis.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/RottenTomatoes
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC2nYjRN5T7Qfenb4C03VdLQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rotten-tomatoes

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rotten Tomatoes