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Attack of the Rotten Tomatoes

At a time when everyone is suspicious of Hollywood, the industry’s biggest arbiter of quality has become rigged, providing the assessment that Hollywood wants rather than the critical feedback that it needs.

smashing machine
Recently, The Smashing Machine went viral with a “debut” score of 100 percent fresh out of Venice, but it was quickly knocked down to 84 percent and falling, even before most of the mainstream critics have had a crack at it. Photo: Courtesy of A24
Matthew Belloni
September 5, 2025

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Shh, don’t tell anyone, but none of the movies that just premiered at Venice or Telluride really killed it. Not in the way that films in past years have announced themselves as the clear contenders to beat at the Oscars. Not if you’re reading the tea leaves closely and parsing the polite puffery or talking to the very few awards season veterans who have no material interest in the reactions to, or the best picture trajectories of, the films in question.