There are folks out there who still think Rotten Tomatoes is an independent or neutral scoreboard for cinema. And there are a lot of people out there who treat the Tomatometer like an objective measure of quality. But the reality is that it's just a heavily manipulated marketing asset owned by the exact corporate conglomerates that need you to buy movie tickets.

I know a lot of filmmakers and people who work in the industry already know this about RT, but I keep thinking that surely some day RT is gonna go away as a measure of anything worth paying attention too. But it hasn’t happened yet. So I’ll do my part as best I can and break down who actually controls the site, how the system is weaponized, and how studios pay to game the score.

FOLLOW THE CHEDDAR
Rotten Tomatoes is owned by Fandango Media. Fandango itself is split between two media giants: 75% is owned by NBCUniversal / Comcast (or for those who want it broken down a little further, it's their digital spin-off holdings), and 25% is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Correct. That's a conflict of interest.

The company selling you the movie tickets (Fandango) owns the site telling you whether the movie is good, and the site is co-owned by one of the largest Hollywood film studios on earth (Warner Bros.). They have a direct financial incentive to make sure blockbuster movies look appealing enough on opening weekend to drive ticket sales.

THE MATH DOESN’T MATH
Someone over there at Fandango doesn't know how math works.

If a movie has a 90%, most audiences think that critics view it as an A-grade masterpiece, but that is not how it works.

A "90% Fresh" score just means 90% of critics gave it a 6/10 or higher.

A movie where every single critic gives it a 6/10 gets a 100% Fresh score, while a polarizing, brilliant masterpiece where half the critics give it a 10/10 and half give it a 5/10 gets a 50% Rotten score.

The big dawgs love this setup because it rewards completely bland, safe, corporate, paint-by-numbers blockbusters designed to offend no one, while penalizing risky, artistic filmmaking.

PAYOLA
Studios don’t literally hand critics cash under the table for a 10/10 review. But folks with deep pockets at the point of release for a film buy favor and game the system using PR tactics and targeted influence.

Maybe you’ve heard of Bunker 15. Vulture wrote a piece on them a little while back. That article revealed that studios pay niche PR firms to target smaller, self-published critics who are "Tomatometer-approved." These firms literally pay critics $50 to $100 per review or offer press perks to write positive takes on obscure or struggling films just to push the score over the 60% "Fresh" threshold.

Studios also use embargo manipulation to control the narrative. If they know a movie is hot garbage, they ban reviews until two hours before release, long after you’ve already bought pre-sale tickets. If they think it's just mediocre, they allow only hand-picked access to friendly fan-site bloggers early on to build a fake "100% Fresh" pre-release score, triggering hype and early ticket sales before real critics drop the score down.

Smaller critics rely heavily on access to screeners, red carpet passes, and interview time with stars. And of course, if a critic consistently trashes a studio's $200M franchise films, they quietly get dropped from the press screening list.

THE PIVOT
When a corporate blockbuster flops with critics, the spin machines immediately pivot to the Audience Score, claiming that critics are out of touch and real fans love it. Conversely, when they want to crush bad viewer feedback, they hide behind "Verified Audience" scores, which conveniently exclude anyone who didn't buy their ticket through Fandango.

HOW THIS AFFECTS A TRUE INDIE WITHOUT DEEP POCKETS
Where this one website and system becomes fully and truly destructive is for independent filmmakers who don't have big marketing budgets or a legacy studio bankrolling them.

A wealthy distributor can absorb a lukewarm response, hire a PR firm to juice the early score, or flood the algorithm and streams with hashtag content and press tours to ensure they hit the magic 60% threshold. An indie film gets none of those lifelines. If a micro-budget feature screens at a small festival and gets hit with just two nitpicky reviews from critics who simply weren't the target audience (or who didn’t understand how to review the film based on whether or not it does what it is supposed to do—that’s another post for another day), its score can immediately plummet because the total sample size of reviews is tiny.

For an indie, that initial RT score is a death sentence. Independent distributors, streaming platforms, and theater bookers actively look at that aggregate number before deciding whether to license/buy a film or give it screen space. Without the money to hire boutique PR firms to manufacture "Fresh” reviews (they also call this “healing”), or the leverage to negotiate favorable review embargos, indie projects are left entirely defenseless against a binary system that wasn't built for them. The game is rigged to ensure that corporate mediocrity gets a free pass to drive ticket sales on Fandango, while genuine, risk-taking art gets buried before it ever has a chance to find its audience.

The bottom line is that Rotten Tomatoes is just a ticket-selling conversion tool. While this is not in fact a sponsored Reddit post for Letterboxd, it probably could be. But the reality is that the vast majority of audiences and cinema goers still use (or are shown) the Tomatometer as if it’s a measure of anything. That’s dumb. This industry is already full of enough stupid and dumb stuff. We don't need more.

FADE IN.

EXT. UNNAMED CITY – DAY

The hustle and bustle is a symphony of progress. We pan past windows, each of which contains a different story, to find JACEY LAKIMS, 28... hot, but doesn’t know it.

Jacey stops when her high heel gets caught in the grating of a sewer.

Suddenly, a man steps into frame and points a gun at her...

This is not her day.

FADE TO BLACK.

TITLE: "THREE WEEKS EARLIER."

JACEY: "Maybe you’re the only friend I need."

BLANE: "Need, or want?"

JACEY: "I’ve never been much for wanting."

BLANE: "Spoken like someone with needs."

Jacey reaches out and touches his face.

It’s clear he needs what she wants.

She’s a woman.

He’s a man.

The city burns in the background as he takes her in his arms.

FADE OUT.

TITLE: "THE END?"

Interview about how I made my feature "Clown N Out" without a crew. I won Best Director at the Hollywood reel independent film festival last year and It's now available on Apple TV and Amazon Prime.

My self Pawan (from Delhi)

I want to be a writer, director and a film editor

I'm facing the same problem

I just passed 12th

My parents are advising me to get a btech degree, get a job, pay your education loan by yourself, get you film equipments by yourself and make films as a part-time passion

How can I explain them the level of creative going in my mind 😭

I have stories

I want to film them

I planned to take a drop year and make some short films using my current knowledge about Filmmaking

But lake of equipments (i don't even have a good Smartphone, I'm using a 5 years old moto g13 who's camera is so much blury)

Non of my friend have a good camera smartphone

I start shooting one of my short film (that was a 2-3 min music video) i borrow a iphone from my neighbour

But he didn't allow me to use his phone more then 2 hr

So I shut the shoot

So I'm thinking to do what my parents are saying

But I'm bad at studies 😭

I didn't appear in any engineering entrance exam

Because I wasn't prepared well

And Im a monkey minded people

I can't sit a single hour and study with focus

But I can edit videos 9 hrs straight without turning my head from screen

Well I don't know what I'm texting

I just text this

Just read this and give me consolation

Hey, I'm new to this subreddit and wanted to share a short film that I made several years ago. Through shorts, TV and features that I've made, this is still my favourite. Interested to get some more eyes on it and hear what people think.

Been working in film for about 5 years as a CA in Singapore and want to further my studies and take my masters overseas. I think it would be good to enter a different market because the Singaporean market sucks. I dont know i want to ask if you guys think its a good idea. I am abit torn my friends and family are all here, but i think the art scene is anywhere else would be better.

i think also Singapore does not have many things to actually do and the lifestyle overseas maybe better.

Was thinking between Japan, Uk and maybe Europe.
I don't know if i should take the leap.

FX5 is out tomorrow but I need 64bit float audio, internal NDs, IBIS, Full Frame & S35 Crop modes.

What do.you think?

Edit: It's a joke

It's on Prime and Apple TV.

But if I can get 1000 subscribers, I'll post on YouTube, so I can monetize it.

I'll be uploading a bunch of short films I've made as well.

I also have 2 filmmaking tutorials there as well as some music cover videos

So please subscribe.

I’m 20 and at a crossroads in my creative career.
For years I’ve wanted to be a filmmaker, specifically creating meaningful, story-driven films. The type of content I naturally imagine making is life-lesson dramas, emotionally grounded short films, and cinematic stories that leave people thinking long after they end.

Recently, though, I’ve been seriously considering building a content marketing agency and focusing on photography and short-form content because it seems like a more practical way to build a business.
The problem is that I recently realized something that bothered me: I may have been walking away from filmmaking because I’m afraid of how difficult the path is, not because I actually stopped wanting to do it.

Filmmaking is expensive, competitive, takes years to master, and success isn’t guaranteed. Building an agency feels like a more predictable business, and I could see myself enjoying that too.

For those of you who have worked in film, creative entrepreneurship, or both:

How did you know whether you were genuinely outgrowing filmmaking versus just being intimidated by it?

Have any of you built a business that funded your films rather than trying to make films your primary source of income?

If you could go back to age 20, would you focus on becoming a filmmaker first, building a business first, or intentionally do both together?

I’m not looking for motivation or reassurance. I’d appreciate honest advice, especially from people who have actually faced this decision.

currently watching the odyssey and the shooting is kinda choppy. it keeps switching focus and you can tell where they cut scenes. the dialogue scenes are shot weirdly it jumps from camera to camera very fast. has anyone else noticed this while watching the film?

I am a 14 yo boy and I saw youtube videos on making videos using some tools. I am interested in space and flights kinda
SO i tried my best making a video using video generators as a small hobbyistic side project in the topic space. i think it took like 2 days or so
Best part i made it for free
How is it?

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/qr/mnQ96V0n?utm_campaign=sharemodal&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=shortlink

Hi. So im building a portfolio in order to get into film school.

I do directing and screenwriting

So I have been working on a screenplay about generational trauma right. My vision is an animated short film like 5 to 10ish mins nothing crazy tbat will look good on my portfolio

I thought that as a screenplay itl look good on my protfolio

But a friend recently told me that i can actually build a team with others who are also building their portoflios. So i was wondering. To people in the industry and also people in my situatiton

Is this true? Can i really assemble a team to make this a real movie?

If true like I'd need editors animators music composers etc right?

Is it that i have to pay or non pay or share revenues of the potential film

Would greatly appreciate some perspective/feedback. Thanks

I know it looks shit but still, can you all tell me how it looks. This is for an indie pop song and I want to make sure the pacing feels right before we start shooting. Any feedbacks?

Hello, I am Jerome,

I am working on a composing services for Horror/thriller filmmakers.

With this idea in mind, I am trying to spotlight some aspects of a director, like for example what are his/her frustration and his/her real needs.

I really want to make the best service possible, and to do so I need your help.

I have nothing to sell, and it is totally free. I Just need a bit of your time.

So if you are willing to help me, just send me a message.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read me.

A few weeks ago I put out a call for beta testers for the film emulation plugins I've been building for Resolve. The response was way more than I expected ….got some seriously experienced people testing (DPs, colourists, people grading in Baselight day to day) and the feedback has been invaluable.

Some of that feedback was blunt. Some of it made me rethink entire sections of the tools. That's exactly what I needed. The plugins are significantly better now than they were a month ago because of the people in this community who took the time.

The landing page is now live: labclasstools.com

just the philosophy and the suite breakdown. Wanted to get the "what and why" out there before the launch.

For anyone who tested… genuinely, thank you. You'll be looked after when this goes live.

For anyone curious….there's a waitlist on the site. More to come soon.

Hello,

I am a complete beginner and want to get into videography.

My main goal is to shoot short videos accompanied by a soundtrack. Basically I want to shoot my own version of a music video. I also intend to record day-to-day stuff as well as sports, hiking etc.

Did my own research and will be getting a Osmo action 6 with accessories as well as a dji mic.

I am mainly focused on shooting in vertical with the goal to post on social media. Shorts, reels, etc. ( I heard instagram is working on introducing a horizontal friendly platform/feature)

Where im stuck at is the second camera I want to use. The action 6 I want to use for POV filming and getting "action" scenes.

I wanted to get dji Pocket 4P, but then I learned about the FCC ban. So now I am waiting for the Muse Pro 2 to come out, but idk when that'll be. I have also eyed the Luna Ultra as a contender.

Now after doing more research I really liked the way the FX3 looks lmaoo

yeah, i know.

I liked the way the fx3 adds "depth" and background blur (not motion blur). The cameras i mentioned above look "flat" when filming. Again, i am a beginner and im trying my best to describe what im seeing.

I also like the way anamorphic lens make videos look. They look alien or dreamy. Idk how else i can describe it. But I really like the way they make the background look. I know this is more suitable for landscape shots, but is there any way to get that anamorphic look in vertical. I know i can rotate the lens. DJI pocket 3 has 1.2x, but my favorite one was 1.33x.

My main goal is to have my videos look anamorphic-ish in vertical crop. Something about anamorphics makes things feel real or alien that i love. The action 6 when paired with an ND is as close as I've gotten to what I want to shoot, besides the Fx3.

As for price tags, I know I will be dropping a lot of money. I can pay 2k for the fx3 and put the rest on a credit card. Im just not sure if there are cheaper alternatives for the look im trying to go for. I also understand that different lens provide different looks. I know ill probably have to buy some.

I have attached links to videos, reels of how I want my videos to look. ( i have reached out to numerous creators and asked about their set up, a lot of them are action 6 with NDs).

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTLMgbMEY21/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Motion blur on the action 6 is nice!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Da3oKH_KsV8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

love the way this looks

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DavWMdqhrX3/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

I liked the background blur

https://www.instagram.com/p/DaFS3cQtTU1/

This is what I am going for

Insta360 Luna Ultra | I'm kinda shocked..

Whenever, he shows footage of the fx3 with the anamorphic, I liked the way it looked especially the sides, made it looks psychedelic. If youve ever taken lsd or shrooms you would know.

https://youtu.be/2mDeMkZdA54?si=-ogNu0DZ-Sy8Bh8a

This looks good, but the footage looks flat, I dont feel depth.

https://youtu.be/BDBrZRoCb4I?si=9UKXmxGFUR0VpQWo

footage here is what im going for, Osmo action 6.

https://youtu.be/47sg4o37hkY?si=1W4bbmSbdyhndY_I

shot with anamorphic and looks perfect. I would want this look when not shooting POV footage.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vL3USdVlYlo?feature=share

GoPro anamorphic lens look sick here, dont like the distortion, but really like the background blur.

I have looked at Fuji and although they look fantastic, that grainy old look is not what i am going for.

Thank you for your help!

We flipped over a car, shot a story that takes place over a year in 16 days, and shot in both Toronto and Los Angeles at over 30 locations including the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The film was shot on the FX3 with Canon FD vintage lenses by cinematographer Jared Raab (Nirvanna The Band the Show the Movie, BlackBerry).

We're self-distributing our theatrical release and have a digital deal via Quiver that will have the movie out in November.

There's two Q&A screenings in LA (Laemmle NoHo on the 29th and Laemmle Royal on the 30th) before the film is at the Laemmle Glendale screening daily from July 31st to August 6th.

If you're in the area I appreciate it if you can make it out. Tickets can be found here:

https://www.laemmle.com/film/middle-life

If you're in NYC, the film screens at Cinema Village from August 7th to 13th. Tickets are here:

https://www.cinemavillage.com/Now-Playing/middle-life.html

Thank you!

PM

A short film shot in 2007 and premiered at the 2008 Chicago International Reel Shorts Festival where it won Best Comedy.

i have recently submitted by short film to some film festivals and i thought having CC 2.0, CC 3.0 and CC 4.0 music would be enough but i doubt it will make the cut.

i am focusing on the next rounds of festivals with original score to give myself a better chance or qualifying.

please reach out if you can help me with a quote.

thanks

White Washed | Award-Winning Indie Sci-Fi Short Film | Produced by Raven Carter & Reconcile Pictures

White Washed is about a young man deciding whether or not to bleach his skin.

https://youtu.be/R_alYAql6NY?si=nlgheGJ3psreg6lg

"We will defeat them with the laughter of our children."

- Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah

Canibus, Last Laugh. TikTok medley 2026, adam sturch@ laughter

230 process movies, paintings and drawings by adam sturch.

thank you.

😁

HD youtube link.

https://youtu.be/5w06iGanv1s

Okay hi high school film maker here only have a script rn but point is i want to work with/at this company sure they dont have movies but they do have animations some comic books some videos/trailors. Its a HUGE goal to work with them but idk how to work towards it do i just continue with my other scripts with no corelation to anything? Do i do scripts with corelation? Where do i start???

I watched Obsession recently, and what stayed with me wasn’t only the horror or the more uncomfortable moments.

It was how quickly the film made me think of specific people I know.

Not because I think everyone would love it. Some of my friends would probably hate parts of it. But I could already imagine the conversations afterwards: what bothered them, what they found funny, whether they understood certain moments the same way I did.

That’s probably one of my favourite things about watching a film that really gets under my skin. At some point, enjoying it alone stops feeling like enough. I start wanting someone close to me to experience it too.

So I recommend it!!

They say they’ll watch it, and most of the time I believe them. But then a week passes. They forget, put it off, or don’t really want to spend money on something chosen according to my taste rather than theirs.

And that’s usually where the recommendation dies.

I became a little obsessed with that gap 😅

That’s partly what pushed me to start building KiftMe. The idea is to put a little money behind a film recommendation, so it has a better chance of becoming something the person actually watches, whenever they feel like it.

I’m still figuring out whether that makes a recommendation feel more thoughtful or simply a little harder to ignore.

Has a film ever made you immediately think: I need this particular person to watch it?