History of Rotten Tomatoes in Timeline

Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television, founded in August 1998 by University of California, Berkeley undergraduates Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang. The site's name, referencing the historical practice of throwing rotten tomatoes at performers, was directly inspired by a scene in the 1992 film *Léolo*. Rotten Tomatoes compiles reviews from various critics and calculates an overall approval rating, providing a gauge of a film or show's critical reception.

1992: Inspiration from the film Léolo

In 1992, the Canadian film Léolo inspired Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang to name their website 'Rotten Tomatoes' after a scene in the film.

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August 12, 1998: Rotten Tomatoes Officially Launched

On August 12, 1998, Senh Duong officially launched Rotten Tomatoes as a spare-time project. His initial goal was to provide access to movie reviews from various critics in the U.S.

August 1998: Rotten Tomatoes Launched

In August 1998, Rotten Tomatoes was launched by Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang, three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley. The name was inspired by a scene in the 1992 film Léolo, referencing the practice of throwing rotten tomatoes at poor stage performances.

August 1998: Website Launch and Early Success

In August 1998, Rotten Tomatoes went live after being coded by Senh Duong in two weeks. Inspired by Jackie Chan's movies, the site quickly gained traction, receiving mentions from Netscape, Yahoo!, and USA Today, and attracting a significant number of daily visitors.

September 1998: Rush Hour's Delayed Release

In September 1998, the release of Rush Hour, Jackie Chan's first major Hollywood crossover film, was delayed, even though it was the catalyst that inspired the creation of Rotten Tomatoes.

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April 1, 2000: Official Launch with Partners

On April 1, 2000, Rotten Tomatoes was officially launched with Senh Duong teaming up with University of California, Berkeley classmates Patrick Y. Lee and Stephen Wang, who were his former partners at Design Reactor.

2000: RT Awards Announced

In 2000, Rotten Tomatoes announced the RT Awards, which honored the best-reviewed films of the year based on the website's rating system. These awards were later renamed the Golden Tomato Awards.

2003: Introduction of Average Score Feature

In 2003, Rotten Tomatoes introduced an average score on a 0 to 10 scale, which was later removed in April 2025.

June 2004: Rotten Tomatoes Acquired by IGN Entertainment

In June 2004, Rotten Tomatoes was acquired by IGN Entertainment for an undisclosed sum, marking a significant milestone in the website's history.

September 2005: IGN Bought by Fox Interactive Media

In September 2005, IGN was bought by News Corp's Fox Interactive Media, which meant Rotten Tomatoes was also under the ownership of Fox Interactive Media.

2007: Matt Atchity Becomes Editor-in-Chief

In 2007, Matt Atchity became the editor-in-chief of Rotten Tomatoes, marking a significant leadership change for the website.

2009: User Groups Launched

By late 2009, the Rotten Tomatoes website allowed users to create and join groups to discuss various aspects of film, including award voting, but Flixster disbanded the groups after acquisition.

2009: The Rotten Tomatoes Show Launched

In 2009, Current Television launched The Rotten Tomatoes Show, which was a televised version of the web review site, hosted by Brett Erlich and Ellen Fox.

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January 2010: Criticism of Review Aggregation by Armond White

In January 2010, Armond White, chairman of the New York Film Critics Circle, criticized Rotten Tomatoes and other film review aggregators for diminishing individual expression by reducing reviews to percentage scores and promoting consensus over assessment.

January 2010: IGN Sells Rotten Tomatoes to Flixster

In January 2010, IGN sold Rotten Tomatoes to Flixster. The combined reach of both companies was reported to be 30 million unique visitors a month across different platforms.

January 2010: Rotten Tomatoes Acquired by Flixster

In January 2010, Rotten Tomatoes was acquired by Flixster, marking a change in ownership for the review aggregation website.

September 16, 2010: The Rotten Tomatoes Show Ended on Current TV

On September 16, 2010, The Rotten Tomatoes Show, a televised version of the website, ended its run on Current Television. The show, hosted by Brett Erlich and Ellen Fox, had aired since 2009.

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February 2011: Community Features Update

As of February 2011, Rotten Tomatoes added new community features and removed others. Specifically, users could no longer sort films by Fresh Ratings from Rotten Ratings.

2011: InfoMania segment Ends

In 2011, The Rotten Tomatoes Show returned as a much shorter segment of InfoMania, a satirical news show that ended the same year.

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2011: Warner Bros. Acquires Flixster

In 2011, Warner Bros. acquired Flixster, which included Rotten Tomatoes, as part of the acquisition.

2011: Warner Bros. Acquires Rotten Tomatoes

In 2011, Warner Bros. acquired Rotten Tomatoes, further changing the ownership of the website.

September 17, 2013: TV Zone Created

On September 17, 2013, Rotten Tomatoes created a section specifically for scripted television series, called TV Zone, as a subsection of the website.

2015: 20th Century Fox commissioned study

In 2015, 20th Century Fox commissioned a study titled "Rotten Tomatoes and Box Office", which stated that the website and social media were an increasing complication for the film business. The study found that consumers, especially millennials and Gen X-ers, vet purchases through the Internet.

2015: Meryl Streep's Criticism of Gender Disparity in Film Criticism

In 2015, actress Meryl Streep accused Rotten Tomatoes of disproportionately representing male film critics' opinions, which she believed skewed the Tomatometer and adversely affected the box office performance of female-driven films.

February 2016: Rotten Tomatoes Sold to Fandango Media

In February 2016, Rotten Tomatoes and its parent site Flixster were sold to Comcast's Fandango Media. Warner Bros. retained a minority stake in the merged entities, including Fandango.

December 2016: Office Move to Beverly Hills

In December 2016, Fandango and its various websites, including Rotten Tomatoes, relocated to Fox Interactive Media's former headquarters in Beverly Hills, California.

July 2017: Editor-in-Chief Matt Atchity Leaves Rotten Tomatoes

In July 2017, Matt Atchity, who had been the editor-in-chief of Rotten Tomatoes since 2007, left the company to join The Young Turks YouTube channel.

July 2017: Studios Consider Embargoing Reviews

In July 2017, some studios suggested embargoing or cancelling early critic screenings due to poor reviews affecting pre-sales and opening weekend numbers. Sony embargoed reviews for The Emoji Movie until the day before its release. Warner Bros did not have critic pre-screenings for The House.

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November 1, 2017: See It/Skip It Web Series Launched

On November 1, 2017, Rotten Tomatoes launched a new web series on Facebook called See It/Skip It, which was hosted by Jacqueline Coley and Segun Oduolowu.

2017: Hollywood Studios See Rotten Tomatoes as a Threat

In 2017, major Hollywood studios started to view Rotten Tomatoes as a potential threat to their marketing, after films with low scores underperformed at the box office, while films with high scores exceeded expectations.

March 2018: New Design Announced

In March 2018, Rotten Tomatoes announced its new design, icons, and logo at South by Southwest, marking the first major redesign in 19 years.

February 26, 2019: Changes to User Review and "Want to See" Statistic System

On February 26, 2019, Rotten Tomatoes announced changes to its user review system, including disabling user reviews until a film's public release and introducing a "verified" review system. Additionally, the "Want to See" statistic would be presented as a number to avoid confusion with the audience score, due to coordinated review "bombing" incidents.

May 2019: Launch of Verified Audience Ratings

In May 2019, Rotten Tomatoes launched verified audience ratings, where users had to verify their ticket purchase to have their ratings count towards the average audience score.

May 24, 2019: Verified Rating System Introduced

On May 24, 2019, Rotten Tomatoes introduced a verified rating system. Users now have to verify their ticket purchase through Fandango Media to have their ratings count towards the average audience score.

May 19, 2020: Webby Award Win

On May 19, 2020, Rotten Tomatoes won the 2020 Webby People's Voice Award for Entertainment in the Web category, recognizing its contribution to online entertainment.

February 2021: "Audience Says" Section Added

In February 2021, Rotten Tomatoes added an "Audience Says" section, which is similar to the "Critics Consensus". This section summarizes the reviews noted by registered users into a concise blurb. The section also may address external factors affecting sentiments.

February 2021: Design Changes and Feature Updates

In February 2021, Rotten Tomatoes announced several design changes through their Product Blog, including adding the release year, genre, and runtimes to each film's 'Score Box,' and visually grouping the number of ratings. Links to critics and viewers were added below the ratings.

February 2021: "What to Know" Section Created

In February 2021, Rotten Tomatoes created a new "What to Know" section for each film entry. It combines the "Critics Consensus" and a new "Audience Says" blurb.

2022: API Access Restricted

As of 2022, Rotten Tomatoes restricted API access to approved developers who must go through an application process. This change limits access to critic and audience ratings and reviews for external websites.

September 2023: Criticisms of Rating Manipulation

In September 2023, an article in Vulture raised concerns about the ease with which large companies can manipulate reviewer ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. The article cites Bunker 15 as an example of how scores can be boosted, using the example of the film Ophelia.

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February 2024: Defense of PR Tactics in Review Sponsorship

In February 2024, WIRED published an article by Christopher Null, a former film critic, arguing that sponsoring legitimate reviews is a standard PR tactic in the film industry and other industries, defending practices that were criticized in prior reporting.

April 2024: Rotten Tomatoes Scores Influence Director Hiring

In April 2024, The Hollywood Reporter indicated that a director's past Rotten Tomatoes scores are being brought up by producers in pitch meetings, influencing hiring decisions, highlighting critical acclaim is being gamified.

August 21, 2024: Popcornmeter and 'Verified Hot' Badge Introduced

On August 21, 2024, Rotten Tomatoes rebranded its audience score as the Popcornmeter and introduced a new "Verified Hot" badge for films with an audience score of 90% or higher among users verified as having purchased a ticket through Fandango. The "Verified Hot" badge was retroactively applied to over 200 films since the launch of verified audience ratings in May 2019.