8 Movies Critics Love That Regular People Just Shrugged At

Every movie here has critics way up and regular viewers way down. I picked a side on each one. Mostly the critics'. Don't tell anyone.

Number one got the worst opening night grade here, and I'm siding against the crowd.

1. 8
   Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)5.1

   Side with the audience. The CGI prairie dogs were a choice.

   77% on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences rank it above just 29% of notable movies. $786.6 million worldwide bought a lot of tickets and a lot of regret.
2. 7
   Backrooms (2026)6.2

   Side with the audience. Great hallway, thin movie.

   $400.6 million worldwide on a $10 million budget, so everybody showed up. Then audiences ranked it above just 35% of notable movies. The yellow wallpaper deserved a better script.
3. 6
   The Blair Witch Project (1999)6.1

   Critics were right in 1999. Audiences are right now.

   $248.6 million worldwide on a $60K budget is legendary. But 81 minutes of map arguments and handheld wobble plays rough now, and audiences rank it above only 31% of notable movies.
4. 5
   The Cabin in the Woods (2011)6.7

   Side with critics. The crowd just didn't get the joke.

   92% on Rotten Tomatoes and a C CinemaScore. People came for a cabin slasher and got a 95-minute roast of every horror movie they ever loved.
5. 4
   Annihilation (2018)6.4

   Side with critics. Not getting it isn't the movie's fault.

   88% on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences rank it above just 35% of notable movies. Alex Garland made a sci-fi horror movie about grief and handed out zero maps. That's the point.
6. 3
   Drive (2011)7.6

   Side with critics. It's a mood in a scorpion jacket.

   Critics rank it above 90% of notable movies, audiences 56%. People expected a racing movie and got 100 minutes of Ryan Gosling barely talking, plus a synth soundtrack that never leaves.
7. 2
   The Witch (2015)6.5

   Side with critics. Slow dread beats cheap jump scares.

   Critics rank it above 88% of notable movies, audiences 35%. Robert Eggers made a $4 million movie in full Puritan English, and Anya Taylor-Joy walked out of it a star.
8. 1
   Hereditary (2018)7.3

   Opening night gave it a D+. Opening night was wrong.

   Critics rank it above 92% of notable movies, audiences 49%. Toni Collette is incredible, and people graded it like a pop quiz they didn't study for.

$669.41 says you've called Annihilation confusing for years and you're about to rewatch it anyway.

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Current mood: ready to fight about it