8 Dramas Critics Love That Regular People Just Shrugged At. Pick a Side, I Already Did.

Critics raved. Audiences yawned. I picked a side on every single one, and I'm not always with the critics. Sorry, film school.

Number one got a C minus CinemaScore and my undying loyalty.

1. 8
   Noah (2014)3.9

   Audiences win this one. Rock giants and all, it drags.

   75% on Rotten Tomatoes, C CinemaScore. It made $359M worldwide on a reported $125M to $160M budget, so people showed up. They just didn't come back for seconds.
2. 7
   Ad Astra (2019)5.4

   Gorgeous, and kinda a sleeping pill. Audiences called it.

   83% with critics, 6.5 on IMDb. Brad Pitt whispers his feelings across the solar system on a reported $80M to $100M budget. Pretty, quiet, very long-feeling.
3. 6
   Between the Temples (2024)5.5

   Critics are right. Regular people just never found it.

   85% on Rotten Tomatoes, 83 on Metacritic, $2,084,122 domestic and only 3,695 IMDb votes. Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane deserved a bigger crowd than a book club.
4. 5
   Presence (2024)4.8

   Critics are right, but the C+ is earned.

   88% with critics, C+ CinemaScore. Soderbergh shot a ghost story from the ghost's point of view on a reported $2M and made $11M worldwide. Clever trick, thin story.
5. 4
   Die My Love (2025)4.2

   Both sides are wrong. It's messy and great in pieces.

   75% on Rotten Tomatoes, D+ CinemaScore. Jennifer Lawrence goes full feral, Robert Pattinson mostly stares. That 4.2 movie.guru score is harsh, but nobody left humming.
6. 3
   I Saw the TV Glow (2024)5.6

   Critics win. Give it a second watch before shrugging.

   86 on Metacritic, 5.8 on IMDb, $5M domestic on a reported $10M budget. Justice Smith anchors a late-night TV fever dream that sticks around for weeks.
7. 2
   Annihilation (2018)6.0

   Critics win, and it's not close.

   88% on Rotten Tomatoes, C CinemaScore, $43M worldwide on a reported $40M to $55M. Natalie Portman walks into a shimmering zone and the movie dares you to keep up.
8. 1
   The Witch (2015)6.0

   Critics were right. That C minus says more about audiences.

   91% with critics, C minus CinemaScore, $41,429,409 worldwide on a reported $4M. Anya Taylor-Joy, a goat and a lonely farm. Boring is not a review.

$343.71 says at least one of you defends Noah's rock giants with your whole chest.

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Current mood: ready to fight about it