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

Happy Halloween. Critics loved these mysteries, regular people shrugged. I picked a side on every one, and critics don't always win.

The last one is the fight. Its audience grade belongs on a report card.

1. 8
   Ad Astra (2019)5.4

   Audiences win this one. It's a gorgeous nap.

   Brad Pitt whispers his feelings across the whole solar system. Metacritic gave it 80. IMDb voters gave it 6.5. A reported $80 to 100 million budget pulled $127.5M worldwide.
2. 7
   Longlegs (2024)5.5

   Audiences had a point. The dread outlasts the answers.

   Maika Monroe is wound tight and Nicolas Cage is unrecognizable. Still, a C+ CinemaScore on a $10M movie that made $128M worldwide says people bought the hype, not the payoff.
3. 6
   Us (2019)6.5

   Critics win. Lupita Nyong'o does double duty better than anyone.

   93% on Rotten Tomatoes, a B CinemaScore, and $256.1M worldwide on a $20M budget. Audiences only shrugged at the rules. The performances are untouchable.
4. 5
   Black Bag (2025)6.7

   Critics win. Adults talking smart is apparently a genre now.

   Soderbergh and Cate Blanchett made a 96% Rotten Tomatoes spy marriage. Audiences gave it a B and $43.9M worldwide against a reported $50 to 60 million. Your loss.
5. 4
   Barbarian (2022)6.2

   Critics win. The C+ crowd just hated being surprised.

   Zach Cregger made it for a reported $4 to 4.5 million and it pulled $40.8M domestic. A C+ CinemaScore for the best rug pull of 2022 is legit nuts.
6. 3
   I Saw the TV Glow (2024)5.6

   Critics win, but it asks a lot of your patience.

   Biggest gap here: it ranks above 85% of movies with critics, 29% with audiences. It made $5.4M worldwide on a $10M budget. Weird, slow, and it sticks for weeks.
7. 2
   The Blair Witch Project (1999)5.7

   Critics win. Motion sickness is not a valid review.

   A camcorder, the woods and a reported $60K budget. It made $248.6M worldwide and still got a C+ CinemaScore. Audiences paid to be scared, then graded the scare like homework.
8. 1
   Hereditary (2018)6.9

   Critics win. That D+ CinemaScore is a historically bad take.

   Toni Collette gives a performance people still argue about at dinner. Metacritic 87, IMDb 7.3, $90.4M worldwide on $10M. Opening night crowds wanted a jump-scare ride and got a grief study.

$386.17 says the Hereditary comments turn into a group therapy session before lunch.

Share it: X | Facebook | Copy link

Current mood: ready to fight about it