Box office numbers are fromThe Numbers. Figures have been rounded up or down to the nearest million.
Several blockbuster movies managed to become billion-dollar hits despite receiving poor reviews. Alongside similar sources like IMDb or Metacritic, the long-running website Rotten Tomatoes is one of the most influential and widely referenced review aggregators available to movie-goers as of 2025. Beginning itsexistence as a fansite for Jackie Chan’sRush Hour, Rotten Tomatoes can be a good metric to look at how a film was received among critics, including older releases.
However, while the quality of modern movies is typically assessed from a critical and commercial perspective, money has traditionally proven to be king in Hollywood. Frommajor franchisesthat were running out of things to say to films that were destined to be big no matter how they were received,somemovies made over $1 billion at the box office but still clocked in with low Rotten Tomatoes scores.
One of the most controversialStar Warsfilms of all time, 1999’sEpisode I: The Phantom Menacekicked off the franchise’s prequel trilogy to mixed reviews. From the hair-raising podrace on Tatooine to the thrilling “Duel of the Fates” pitting Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi against the sinister Darth Maul, George Lucas' return had something for everyone, but not everything worked.
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The result was a mixed approval rating of 53% on Rotten Tomatoes. The humor of characters like Jar Jar Binks didn’t land and was a considerable detractor to the film gaining momentum, while the narrative thread of an intergalactic trading blockade also wasn’t a sufficient hook for many fans who had grown up with Darth Vader and the Death Star. However, this had little bearing on the financial results for the return of one of the biggest movie franchises of all time,withThe Phantom Menacebanking a little over $1 billion at the box office worldwide.
Following up the masterfulPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearlwas always going to be a stiff challenge, a state of affairs highlighted by the mixed reviews for the series' sophomore outing, 2006’sPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.IntroducingBill Nighy’s Davy Jonesto the fold, the sequel’s lukewarm critical reception was in sharp contrast to the widespread acclaim lavished on its 2003 predecessor, clocking in with a middling Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 53%.
Pirates of the Caribbean series entries by year
Worldwide box office gross
$654 million
79%
$1.06 billion
53%
$961 million
44%
$1.04 billion
33%
$795 million
30%
Fortunately for Gore Verbinski and company,Dead Man’s Cheststill proved to be an exemplary performer at the box office despite a fall-off in positive reviews. Smashing several records,the sequel raked in more than $1 billion worldwideto land as the highest-grossingPirates of the Caribbeanentry of all time, as well as the highest-grossing movie of the year.
A remake of the 1994animated movie masterpieceof the same name, 2019’sThe Lion Kingproved to be a pale imitation of the iconic original. A photorealistically animated version of the classic story, Jon Favreau’s movie boasted a star-studded ensemble cast but landed lukewarm reviews. The film’s Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 52% saw it become the highest-grossing movie with a"Rotten"rating in history,boasting a worldwide gross of more than $1.6 billion.
The Lion King saw the late, great James Earl Jones reprise his role as Mufasa from the 1994 original for the final time.
However, while this retelling of the beloved Disney picture might not bring anything new to the table from a storytelling perspective,The Lion King’simpressive box-office returns have already unsurprisingly produced a prequel-sequel origin story in the form of 2024’sMufasa: The Lion King. However, while the new movie earned $687 million to land as the seventh-highest-grossing movie of 2024, it only earned slightly better reviews than its predecessor, clocking in with an approval rating of just 58%.
Widely regarded as theworst live-actionStar Warsmovieof all time, 2019’sEpisode IX - The Rise of Skywalkerhad long-time viewers of the storied franchise up in arms. A Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 51% didn’t even begin to reflect the levels of disappointment felt by the series' fan base, with the vast majority highlighting the contrived, unimaginative, and straight-up lazy nature of the sequel trilogy’s conclusive entry.
Star Wars sequel trilogy entries by year
$2.06 billion
93%
$1.3 billion
91%
$1.07 billion
51%
Earning over $1 billion worldwide at the box office, J.J. Abrams' sequel was the seventh-highest-grossing movie of 2019 and became the quintessential example of a high-earning blockbuster with a poor Rotten Tomatoes score. Compounding matters,The Rise of Skywalkeralso bears the ignominious tag of being the sequel trilogy’s lowest-grossing entry, in addition to receiving the worst approval rating in the entire franchise.
A live-action adaptation of Lewis Caroll’s works from Tim Burton, 2010’s fantasy-adventure offeringAlice in Wonderlandproved to be a smash hit at the box office,breaking the billion-dollar barrierthroughout its theatrical run. Starring Mia Wasikowski in the titular role with memorable supporting bows fromfrequent Burton collaboratorsJohnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, the film also featured the director’s usual impressive array of visuals in spades.
The box office success ofAlice in Wonderlandled to a sequel, 2016’sAlice Through the Looking Glass. A box office bomb, the second outing also received considerably more negative reviews.
Unfortunately, many critics argued that an emphasis on aesthetic and technical elements was precisely the thing holding the movie back in terms of quality, accusing it of prioritizing spectacle over substance. A notably divisive offering, Rotten Tomatoes' consensus critical opinion forAlice in Wonderlandremained split virtually down the middle; the movie holds an approval rating of 51% as of 2025.
The second installment in the series and the sequel to 2015’sJurassic World, 2018’sJurassic World: Fallen Kingdomsaw the rebooted take on the franchise already beginning to show signs of flagging in terms of quality. J.A. Bayona’s sci-fi action offering saw a notable fall off in the good reviews bestowed on its predecessor, garnering a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of just 47%, in contrast toJurassic World’srespectable score of 72%.
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However, accusations of a played-out central premise and a middling screenplay did little to stopFallen Kingdomfrom becoming the twenty-second-highest-grossing movie ever made. ThethirdJurassic Parkmovieto break the $1 billion benchmark at the box office, Bayona’s sequel ended 2018 as the year’s third-highest-grossing filmwith a total return of more than $1.3 billion.
The third and finalTransformersentry to star Shia LaBeouf, 2011’sTransformers: Dark of the Moonis also notable for being the series' first movie to not feature Megan Fox. Chronicling the struggle between the Autobots and Decepticons for control of technology capable of restoring Cybertron,Dark of the Moonwas considered to be a slight improvement on 2009’sRevenge of the Fallenbut still earned a widely negative critical response.
Transformers series entries by year
$708 million
57%
$837 million
20%
$1.12 billion
35%
$1.1 billion
18%
$603 million
16%
$465 million
$439 million
52%
Clocking in with an approval rating of just 35% on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie’s colossal box office earnings fortunately took the sting out of its more vicious reviews. The highest-grossing entry in the entireTransformersfranchise,Dark of the Moon’sbox office return of more than $1.12 billionsaw it also become Michael Bay’s highest-grossing movie, as well as the second-highest-grossing film of 2011.
Excitement for the highly anticipated return of thePirates of the Caribbeanfranchise fizzled out like a damp cannon fuse with the release of 2011’sOn Stranger Tides. The first outing in the series to not featureOrlando Bloom and Keira Knightley’s charactersfrom the original trilogy, the latestPiratesoffering depicting the hunt for the Fountain of Youth suffered the disastrous drop-off in quality that is to be expected from a tired franchise in the process of completely running aground.
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Earning a sub-par approval rating of 33%, the chaoticOn Stranger Tidesisn’t actually as terrible as its score would suggest but still bears the inglorious tag of being the second lowest-rated entry in the entire franchise. However, countless fans flocking to the cinemas hoping to see an offering that could rival the series' earlier entries sawthe movie rake in more than $1 billion at the box office worldwide.
Despite a slew of negative reviews, 2022’sJurassic World Dominionserves as proof of the fact that theJurassic Parkfranchise will continue for as long as the series continues to draw in colossal box-office returns. Garnering a measly approval rating of 29% on Rotten Tomatoes, even the return ofJurassic Park’soriginal cast isn’t enough to save this offering from the embarrassing tag of the franchise’s worst movie.
Jurassic World series entries by year
$1.7 billion
72%
47%
$1.004 billion
29%
TBD
However, the film’s disappointing critical reception was a far cry from its stellar box-office returns,withJurassic World Dominionpulling in just over $1 billion worldwide.Colin Trevorrow’s maligned offering underlines the harsh reality that cash reigns supreme in Hollywood, with a standalone sequel featuring a brand-new ensemble cast entitledJurassic World Rebirthalready slated for release in July 2025.
The fact that 2014’sTransformers: Age of Extinctionboasts a meager 18% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes but still isn’t the lowest-rated entry in the long-runningTransformersseries speaks volumes to the levels of quality that have historically been on display in Michael Bay’s flagship action franchise. With that being said, there’s a reason that the director was able to continue churning out hisTransformermoviesregularly before his latest entry in 2017; they never failed to score big at the box office.
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The thirty-sixth-highest-grossing movie of all time,Age of Extinction’sreturn of just over $1.1 billionmakes it the second-highest-grossing entry in the series. However, while it may feature the usual spectacular action sequences and impressive visual effects that fans have come to expect from the series, the vast majority ofAge of Extinctionis just as tired and played out as the movie’s laundry list of brutal reviews would indicate.
