Movie reviews in come from publications or individual critics that have been selected by the Rotten Tomatoes staff. The criteria for inclusion for both publications and critics are separated across three divisions; print, broadcast, and online, each with its own criteria for Tomatometer inclusion.
SOURCE APPROVAL
Print publications must achieve and maintain status as one of the following:
- - A top 100 daily US newspaper
- - A top 100 weekly US newspaper
- - A top 100 magazine
- - A top 10 entertainment-based publication
Sources used to determine national publication ranks include the Audit Bureau of Circulations, The Magazine Publishers of America, and the Association of Alternative Weeklies. Applications for international publications will be made on a case-by-case basis, with input from local Rotten Tomatoes editors when applicable.
Broadcast outlets must achieve and maintain status as a national TV or radio outlet (either via syndication or network broadcast) for Tomatometer consideration. Alternatively, a TV outlet must be broadcasting in one of the top ten DMAs, as listed by Nielsen Ratings. Radio outlets must be broadcasting in one of the top five DMAs, as listed by Arbitron. In almost all cases, an outlet's individual reviews must be available online, either as a segment transcript or an alternate, written review.
Online publications must achieve and maintain a minimum 500,000 unique monthly visitors according to comScore, Inc or Nielsen Net Ratings and reviews must have an average length of at least 300 words. Publications must also show a consistent standard of professionalism, writing quality, and editorial integrity across all reviews and articles. Lastly, site design and layout should also reflect a reasonable level of quality and must have a domain name specific to the property.
For all outlets, reviews should be readable within a standard browser; reviews that require users to download additional software or browser plugins (ie PDFs) are strongly discouraged. Applications for international outlets will be made on a case-by-case basis, with input from local Rotten Tomatoes editors when applicable.
CRITICS APPROVAL
Print critics must be currently employed as a critic at a Tomatometer-approved publication for a minimum of two calendar years to be considered for individual approval.
Broadcast critics must be currently employed as a critic at a Tomatometer-approved outlet for a minimum of two calendar years to be considered for individual approval.
Online critics must have published no less than 100 reviews across two calendar years at a single, Tomatometer-approved publication, and all reviews should have an average length of at least 300 words to be considered for individual approval.
Video critics
For critics who are primarily publishing their reviews on video, inclusion on is dependent on meeting the following criteria:
- Video critics must submit a resume outlining their qualifications to reviews (include examples of web or print reviews,-related jobs, etc).
- Video reviews must be embedded on a website or blog separate from a video hosting site like YouTube or Vimeo, and written transcripts of the reviews must be included with each video entry.
- Critics must be able to demonstrate a consistent level of professionalism and insight in both their reviews and in the production of their videos.
- Video critics must have at least 20,000 subscribers on a video hosting site.
In all cases applicants should have two years' worth of published reviews available online, and all applicants must be able to demonstrate that their reviews have editorial oversight.
In some cases, critics that are publishing reviews on a Tomatometer-approved outlet and have membership in select critics associations may be considered for individual approval. However, membership in a critics association does not guarantee approval.
The approved societies are:
- - Boston Society of Critics
- - Broadcast Critics Association
- - Chicago Critics Association
- - Dallas-Fort Worth Critics Association
- - Detroit Critics Society
- - Critics Circle of Australia
- - Florida Critics Circle
- - Houston Critics Society
- - Kansas City Critics Circle
- - Las Vegas Critics Society
- - London Critics Circle
- - Los Angeles Critics Association
- - National Society of Critics
- - Nevada Critics Society
- - New York Critics Circle
- - New York Critics Online
- - Online Critics Society
- - Phoenix Critics Society
- - San Diego Critics Society
- - San Francisco Critics Circle
- - Santa Fe Critics Circle
- - Southeastern Critics Association
- - Toronto Critics Association
- - Vancouver Critics Circle
- - Washington, D.C. Area Critics Association
TOP CRITICS
Top Critic is a title awarded to the most significant contributors of cinematic and critical discourse. To be considered for Top Critics designation, a critic must be published at a print publication in the top 10% of circulation, employed as a critic at a national broadcast outlet for no less than five years, or employed as a critic for an editorial-based website with over 1.5 million monthly unique visitors for a minimum of three years. A Top Critic may also be recognized as such based on their influence, reach, reputation, and/or quality of writing, as determined by Rotten Tomatoes staff.
THE FINE PRINT
Even if criteria under appropriate divisions are met, all applying critics and sources will be evaluated for quality of writing and presentation, as determined by Rotten Tomatoes staff. In all cases, Rotten Tomatoes maintains the rights to approve, reject, and remove critics and sources across all divisions on a case by case basis.
CRITIC APPLICATION
Please follow the instructions below to become an Approved Tomatometer Critic:
- Register for a Rotten Tomatoes account if you haven't already. Click here to register. This is a required step.
- Send an email to RT-Applications@flixster-inc.com with the subject Critic Submission Application and the following information:
- Your Name
- Your Email Address
- Source Name (publications, web site, TV/radio station
- Source URL
- URL to an index of your reviews
- URLs to at least three reviews you've authored
- Critics Society or Association
- Email address you registered with
Questions? Contact us here.
SOURCE ADMINISTRATION APPLICATION
Editors and webmasters of publications which are already contributing are encouraged to apply for "source administration" privileges. Once authorized, editors may log into Rotten Tomatoes in order to add, edit, or delete articles and reviews from their publication on Rotten Tomatoes. This allows editors to maintain their listings on Rotten Tomatoes for multiple authors.
Please follow the below instruction to apply:
- Register for a Rotten Tomatoes account if you haven't already. Click here to register. This is a required step.
- Send an email to RT-Applications@flixster-inc.com with the subject Source Administration Application and the following information:
- Your Name
- Your Email Address
- Your Job Title
- Source Name (publications, web site, TV/radio station
- Source URL
- Rotten Tomatoes Registration Name
Questions? Contact us here.
