History CriticalDissonance / Film

* ''Warcraft'' got terrible critical reviews, but Rotten Tomatoes shows an 83% favorable rating from audiences. The director has gone on record saying that both fans and non-fans of the franchise loved the film.

* ''Film/ScaryMovie 5'' on ''Website/RottenTomatoes'' has a critical rating of 5% and an audience rating of (brace yourselves) ''79%''. And still managed to open at #2 and finish with more than triple of its budget.

* ''Film/CantStopTheMusic'' is definitely not a film we'd recommend, and in fact the critics trashed, but it at least has a huge cult following if the blurb on the back of Anchor Bay Entertainment's cassette is anything to go by.

* ''Film/TheHangover Part II''. Critics bashed it (for among other things, [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks recycling the plot]] [[VulgarHumor while adding gross-out factor]]), [[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-hangover-ii-is-a-193388 audiences loved it]].

* The 2014 ''Film/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|2014}}'' reboot was subjected to mostly negative reviews from critics, but most consider the film to be SoOkayItsAverage. Which is par for the course when it comes to Ninja Turtles movies.

* ''Film/{{Warcraft}}'' has been panned by critics however audience reviews have been ranging from positive to SoOkayItsAverage.

* ''Film/{{Warcraft}}'' has been panned by critics however audience reviews have been ranging from positive to SOOkayITsAverage.

* Religious films are often given mixed or negative reviews by critics, but popular with the audiences that watch them. For example, ''Flim/ThePassionOfTheChrist'' was rated 49% on Rotten Tomatoes, but is the highest-grossing religious film and the highest grossing non-English language film of all time.

** ''Disney/ChickenLittle'' received generally negative reviews from critics, and many Disney fans, in retrospect, consider it one of the weakest films in the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon. Despite this, the film made $135 million at the domestic box office (their biggest domestic hit since ''Disney/LiloAndStitch'') and $314 million worldwide (their biggest worldwide hit since ''Disney/{{Dinosaur}}'').

* ''Film/CantStopTheMusic'' is definitely not a film we'd recommend, and in fact the critics trashed, but it at least has a huge cult following if the blurb on the back of Creator/AnchorBayEntertainment's cassette is anything to go by.

* Creator/MelBrooks has always been far more popular among average moviegoers than among critics, who usually only single out ''Film/TheProducers'', ''Film/BlazingSaddles'' and ''Film/YoungFrankenstein'' as highlights.

* Creator/DavidORussell has several films that critics just loved and audiences were more mixed about, but perhaps his most polarizing was ''Film/AmericanHustle''. While critics absolutely loved it, giving it a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences merely ''liked'' it. They argued that the [[WorldOfHam scenery chewing, over-the-top performances]] were a bit too much, and the accents were [[OohMeAccentsSlipping not... that accurate]].
* Creator/AdamSandler’s entire career is built on this, and it goes both ways. Only two of his star vehicles with an approval rating of at least 50% on Website/RottenTomatoes (''Film/TheWeddingSinger'' and ''Film/HappyGilmore'') made back their budgets, while every single one of his movies that came in under 50% was successful with audiences. For example, while most critics panned ''Film/TheWaterboy'', it was one of 1998’s highest-grossing movies, while 2002’s ''Film/PunchDrunkLove'' ended up being his most critically acclaimed movie, but also his least financially successful one. There was a period of time in the early 2010s when everyone seemed to come into agreement about Sandler — critics were especially unkind to both ''Film/JackAndJill'' and ''Film/ThatsMyBoy'', and, significantly, both of them failed to make back their budgets (at least in America). But then he headlined a hit animated film with ''WesternAnimation/HotelTransylvania'', and to critics’ horror, he was successful again when he returned to live action with ''Film/GrownUps 2'' restoring the status quo.
** He had three underperforming films in 2014 and 2015: ''Blended'', ''Men, Women & Children'', and ''Film/{{Pixels}}''.

** ''Disney/RobinHood'' was critically ''reviled'' upon its release, and still doesn’t get very positive reviews upon rereleases. Audiences then and today, however, love it. [[note]] One of the reasons for this was it was the first "Untouchable" released under Creator/WaltDisneyHomeVideo's ''Walt Disney Classics'' brand, in 1984, making it immediately accessible for home audiences.[[/note]]
** ''Disney/TheBlackCauldron'' was apparently only released on VHS because of fan protest[[note]] It wasn't spoken of after its terrible run in theaters in 1985; Disney was finally convinced to release it in a shiny clamshell as one of the later installments in North America and Canada through the ''Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection'' label in 1998, and internationally through the international Walt Disney Classics label[[/note]]. Yet, it has always had very lukewarm critical reception, and for the record, is barely remembered.

* ''Film/ActOfValor'' was poorly received by the critics who saw it (29% on Rotten Tomatoes) but the audience as a whole (particularly ‘support-our-troops’ viewers) tend to love it (84% on the same website).

* Mere days after the release of ''Film/{{Annie|2014}}'', the sharp contrast between negative reviews and overall-positive reception from the public was already glaring. Four days after its release, there’s a 30% difference between the critic and audience numbers for the film on Rotten Tomatoes.

* ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'' is incredibly polarizing. The vast majority of critics ''panned'' the film, with one memorable headline calling it "A Crime Against Comic Book Fans". Audiences... well it's actually hard to tell. Many sites were review-bombed with perfect scores about a day before the film came out, but the voices and user reviews ''since then'' haven't been anywhere near as vitriolic as the critics, finding it [[EightPointEight a flawed but entertaining film]].

* ''Film/TheHurtLocker'' was widely acclaimed by critics, who applauded what they saw as a realistic war movie, but less so by viewers. In fact, some current and former U.S. military personnel who saw it, especially Iraq veterans, felt that it was unrealistic to the point where it was almost insulting. It became the lowest-grossing Best Picture UsefulNotes/AcademyAward winner of all time — and some moviegoers have argued that [[AwardSnub the award should have gone to]] ''Film/InglouriousBasterds'' or ''Film/{{Avatar}}''.

* David O'Russell's ''Film/SilverLiningsPlaybook'', based on Matthew Quick's novel of the same name, received acclaim from critics.While it was also generally well-received among audiences, it was not nearly as much as the critics. It has a 7.8/10 vs a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. Many criticized the clichéd ending and the exaggerated portrayal of mental illness.

* The ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequel trilogy received far more respect from the critics than the mainstream opinion might have you believe: ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' scored 67% on Rotten Tomatoes and ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' 80% on their original releases.[[note]]''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' was Fresh too, but with the 3-D rerelease, was pulled down to a Rotten 57%.[[/note]]

* ''Film/VampireAcademy'' was hit with a 9% score on RottenTomatoes, but the fans of [[Literature/VampireAcademy the book]] liked it just fine, or even loved it.

* A handful of indie films (''Film/UnderTheSkin'', ''Film/TheGuest'' and ''Night Moves'' to name a few) have earned critical praise yet are often met with lukewarm to negative responses from audiences. Reasons for the divide vary from film to film, but the general idea from moviegoers in most cases is that [[HypeBacklash it wasn’t as great as critics made it out to be]]. Chances are, if a Certified Fresh-Website/RottenTomatoes-awarded indie movie only has a two-and-a-half- to three-star rating (out of five) on Amazon, than this trope is in full effect.

* The first was in the late 1960s and early ’70s, when a new generation of young, snarky writers like Creator/RogerEbert and Pauline Kael became the most popular new voices in film criticism. Kael in particular is worth noting because ''[[UsefulNotes/AmericanNewspapers The New York Times]]'' went out and hired her as their lead critic due to her glowing review of ''Film/BonnieAndClyde'', which their former lead critic Bosley Crowther had panned, in the pages of ''Magazine/TheNewYorker''. ''Bonnie and Clyde'', of course, went on to become a pop-culture phenomenon and is now regarded as one of the foundational films of UsefulNotes/NewHollywood.
* The second was in the late ’90s and early ’00s, when the Internet emerged as a media tool and the likes of Harry Knowles et al. overturned the film critics who came of age during the UsefulNotes/NewHollywood era. One major online movie site, [=JoBlo’s=] Movie Emporium, got its start specifically because of a group of guys who loved ''Film/{{Armageddon}}'' and thought that the critics were wrong about it.

* Creator/WesAnderson is a rare example of being this among ''both'' critics and audience members. Many consider his style too artsy, eccentric, and hipster-ish, while others flock to his movies for the very same reason. He is, like cilantro, a very polarizing taste. Some, like ''Film/TheLifeAquatic'' are loved by many Anderson fans, but more mixed among critics. Others, like ''Film/MoonriseKingdom'' are loved by critics but generally mixed among Wes Anderson fans. Still others like ''Film/FantasticMrFox'' receive almost no attention, either negative or positive, from audience members and critics, and become [[NeedsMoreLove ignored masterpieces]]. However, fans and critics alike seem to enjoy ''Film/TheGrandBudapestHotel'', ''Film/Rushmore'' and ''Film/TheRoyalTenenbaums''.

* Creator/WesAnderson is a rare example of being this among ''both'' critics and audience members. Many consider his style too artsy, eccentric, and hipster-ish, while others flock to his movies for the very same reason. He is, like cilantro, a very polarizing taste. Some, like ''Film/TheLifeAquatic'' are loved by many Anderson fans, but more mixed among critics. Others, like ''Film/MoonriseKingdom'' are loved by critics but generally mixed among Wes Anderson fans. Still others like ''Film/TheDarjeelingLimited'' are mixed among both.
Some, like ''Film/FantasticMrFox'' receive almost no attention, either negative or positive, from audience members and critics, and become [[NeedsMoreLove ignored masterpieces]]. However, fans and critics alike seem to enjoy ''Film/TheGrandBudapestHotel'' and ''Film/TheRoyalTenenbaums''.

* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersTheMovie'' was trashed by critics for being [[MerchandiseDriven a 90-minute film about toys]], and was not a big hit due to the [[KillEmAll mass slaughter]] [[AnyoneCanDie of beloved characters]] in favor of [[ReplacementScrappy new ones]]. Yet, it’s a [[CultClassic cult favorite]], even among fans who came into the franchise from newer adaptations.

* ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'' is incredibly polarizing. The vast majority of critics ''panned'' the film, with one memorable headline calling it "A Crime Against Comic Book Fans". Audiences, though also divided, generally considered the film, if not perfect, [[EightPointEight still a good film]].

* Creator/AdamSandler’s entire career is built on this, and it goes both ways. Only two of his star vehicles with a 50%-or-higher approval rating on Website/RottenTomatoes (''Film/TheWeddingSinger'' and ''Film/HappyGilmore'') made back their budgets, while every single one of his movies that came in under 50% was successful with audiences. For example, ''Film/TheWaterboy'' was panned by most critics but was one of the highest-grossing movies of 1998, while 2002’s ''Film/PunchDrunkLove'' ended up being his most critically acclaimed movie, but also his least financially successful one. There was a period of time in the early 2010s when everyone seemed to come into agreement about Sandler — both ''Film/JackAndJill'' and ''Film/ThatsMyBoy'' were slammed by critics and, significantly, failed to make back their budgets (at least in America). But then he headlined a hit animated film with ''WesternAnimation/HotelTransylvania'', and his return to live action with ''Grown Ups 2'' became another big success for him, to critics’ horror, restoring the status quo, though his 2014 outings ''Blended'' and ''Men, Women & Children'' both underperformed.

* Creator/StevenSpielberg is the most successful film director of all time, with countless blockbusters and box office hits. Critical reception is more mixed. While the entertainment values of ''Film/{{Jaws}}'', ''Film/CloseEncountersOfTheThirdKind'', ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'', ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' and ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' are praised most critics will prefer his more serious mature stuff like ''Film/SchindlersList'', ''Film/{{Munich}}'' and ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan''. And still many will have scorn for the often infantile themes, TastesLikeDiabetes moments and obligatory happy ends. Such critics will comment on Spielberg in the vein of ‘He is closer to being [[Creator/WaltDisney Disney]]’s successor than [[Creator/AlfredHitchcock Hitchcock]]’s.’

* In the case of ''Film/TerminatorGenisys'', at least one IMDb user has suggested that many of that movie's bad reviews are the result of professional movie-critics rating the movie based on political-correctness, especially as the first Arnold Schwarzenegger blockbuster after his time as Governator of California.

* Creator/WaltDisney: While many people acknowledge Disney’s contributions to animation, film and the fine technical draftmanship of the drawings, special effects and narratives many art snobs see him as a prime example of horrible kitsch. His works from UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation tend to get some recognition, though, but even back then he was criticized for downgrading the artistic achievements by including fluffy FunnyAnimal characters, a lot of CutenessOverload, TastesLikeDiabetes storylines and happy, safe, romanticized fairy tale worlds. Literature fans despise Disney for taking many of the world's most famous novels and fairy tales and turning them into sugar-coated kiddie entertainment which [[AdaptationDisplacement even replaced the original literary masterpieces in the public consciousness]]. The introduction of the Ride/DisneyThemeParks did this reputation no good. Many critics feel ''Disneyland'' and the likes are the work of a megalomaniac trying to create a kitsch paradise and get rich of it. As the Disney brand became more corporate-controlled many feel his cartoons and films became totally risk-free, formulaic, and devoid of any artistic depth or vision. Worse, these MerchandiseDriven marketing techniques [[FollowTheLeader have spread to countless other cartoons, TV shows and films]]. Yet, despite all that, the general public still loves Disney with a passion, especially parents with children.

* ''Film/AmericanSniper'' attracted harsh criticism from antiwar activists like Creator/MichaelMoore and many news personalities, has been [[GodwinsLaw compared to Nazi recruitment films]] and generally has met with venom-spewing hatred from anyone who sees it as a glorification of the Iraq War, inspiring some anti-troop sentiments. Still others suggest that Chris Kyle, the titular sniper, was no hero but a dangerously unbalanced man whose autobiography of the same name (on which the movie is based) is a bunch of lies. Overall, critics seemed to like it, but many were also turned off by the premise and the potential lack of truth in it. As for audience reactions? It broke several box-office records, wound up being the highest-grossing film of 2014 (in the American market, anyway) and earned a rare A+ on [=CinemaScore=].

** Creator/KathrynBigelow got this again with her next film: ''Film/ZeroDarkThirty'' received critical praise, yet it was criticized not by soldiers, but by ''anti''war activists due to what they saw as [[UnfortunateImplications a positive depiction]] of the {{CIA}}'s EnhancedInterrogationTechniques.

* Both 2000s ''Film/FantasticFour'' movies were disliked by the critics in general, but both were box office hits (unlike the universally hated [[Film/FantasticFour2015 2015 reboot]]). However, unlike more acclaimed superhero movies such as ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' and ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', audiences weren’t particularly fond of it, either.

* ''Film/HailCaesar'' was well liked by many critics, with a solid 82% on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences however were much more mixed, with a mere 45% Audience Score, and a disappointing C- on [=CinemaScore=]. This was probably due to the film's reliance on [[ViewersAreGeniuses obscure satirical jabs]] at both old-time Hollywood and current Hollywood, as well as it's Non-Sequitar series of events, which understandably alienated the common audience member, but was liked by the critics who understood the jokes.