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1[[quoteright:350:[[Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/critic_proof.png]]]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:''[[Wrestling/ShaneMcMahon Here comes the money... here comes the money!]]''[[note]]This was the top-grossing film worldwide in 2014 and, at one point, the tenth highest-grossing film of all time.[[/note]]]]
3
4->''"This is just how the film industry works nowadays; critics give bad opinions, the public usually has a differing opinion, and all is well in the world of Hollywood since the studios made their millions anyway."''
5-->-- '''Alex Billington''' [[http://www.firstshowing.net/2007/get-ready-for-a-swarm-of-negative-critics-this-friday-on-pirates-3/ on]] ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd''
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7Sometimes a movie, book, game, TV show, or song is released, and the critics hate it. They just hate it. Entire forests are destroyed printing scathing {{review}}s that dissect such media down to the bone, showing in every possible way that the general public should stay away in droves, and even go as far as to place it on "Worst [X] of All Time" lists just to show everyone how much they hate it. But, no matter how bad they are... no matter how many bad reviews they receive, the public loves it. The movie becomes a blockbuster. The book sits atop the ''New York Times'' best-seller list. The game flies off the shelves and becomes a must-have. The show is weekly appointment viewing. The song is on everyone's iPod...
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9The reasons for this phenomenon are myriad and diverse. Critics are people who watch movies/read books/etc. for a living, on average they consume far more media than the average person. They tend to gravitate towards works that are innovative and experimental, being different makes a work stand out more than the average blockbuster/bestseller. They also have to write about works, which means breaking down themes and metaphors, putting far more thought into a work than the average person would even think of doing. This means that an obscure art film tends to excite them far more than some generic action movie.
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11Critics are often not fans of the source material being adapted (if any), so they look upon things from a layman perspective. Some dislike the style and humor, preferring more 'sophisticated' works. Sometimes the fans are so [[FanDumb hardcore]] that they'd accept ''anything'' from the source, and sometimes, [[ItsNotSupposedToWinOscars it's made to be]] ''[[RuleOfFun fun]]''. In fact, many who see/buy the work may not even think the best of it either, but it's familiar enough that it manages to stand out and market itself. Sometimes it's simply become popular through being SoBadItsGood, or by fans acknowledging the work's flaws but considering them insignificant. There’s also a VocalMinority who will [[CommanderContrarian reject any review and criticism, no matter how legitimate, out of sheer stubbornness.]]
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13Other times, critics (being human, and therefore imperfect), [[BiasSteamroller let their biases and misunderstandings of creator's intent cloud the final review]], portraying the work as ''objectively'' low quality. Critics don't always "get" the work the same ways the audience does. There are also some critics who will reject a work simply because it’s [[ItsPopularNowItSucks popular]] or not TrueArt. At worst, critics will only pay attention to [[OscarBait works that pander to their tastes.]]
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15More cynically, sometimes everyone, fans and critics alike, know the product is a stinker, but heavy prerelease hype and no small amount of PolishTheTurd can put the project in the black long before word gets out. In these cases, usually, the first installment ends up like this but the second takes a dive -- if it's even made, as studios may realize that you won't fool them twice.
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17When no critic in the world can affect a work's popularity, it is Critic-Proof. And even then, some might assume the critics do their jobs as a FailureGambit. Also remember that there is NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity; a critic's harsh review of a work can actually ''encourage'' people to consume said work rather than keep them away.
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19Compare CriticalBacklash, ItsNotSupposedToWinOscars, CriticalDissonance, and HePannedItNowHeSucks. Contrast with OscarBait, AcclaimedFlop, ConfirmationBias, ReviewsAreTheGospel and GuiltyPleasure. Not to be confused with ProtectionFromEditors. One possible cause of PresumedFlop.
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21'''A Administrivia/{{No Recent Examples|please}} rule applies to this trope'''. Examples shouldn't be added until '''one month''' after release for standalone works, '''one month''' after end of the relevant season for episodic works with seasons, or '''four months''' after release for episodic works without seasons. This is to avoid any knee-jerk reactions and allow time for reviews to fully impact public reception.
22----
23!!Examples
24
25[[foldercontrol]]
26
27[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
28* The anime adaptation of ''Literature/ArifuretaFromCommonplaceToWorldsStrongest'' was panned by those who hadn't already read the source material as a nonsensical, edgy mess, and by readers of the original novels as a piss-poor adaptation; [[DisownedAdaptation it was quickly disowned by the author of the original novels]] who said that reading the storyboards he was sent caused him physical pain. Despite this, the anime still managed to boost the sales of the books enough that a second season was announced.
29* The anime of ''VisualNovel/DiabolikLovers'' drew negative reactions from Japanese and Western viewers alike, but was evidently successful at drawing fans to the other branches of the franchise (like the visual novels) since a sequel anime series was also produced. It even had enough momentum going for Creator/SentaiFilmworks to release an ''English dub''.
30* ''Eiken'' is widely considered one of the worst {{ecchi}} series of all time and has been bashed for its dumb plot/characters and ugly art. Both the manga and anime however allegedly sold very well, and fanart of the franchise is not uncommon.
31* ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'':
32** The much-reviled [[ArcFatigue Endless Eight episodes]] of the second season were released across four [=DVDs=] in Japan. Given that said arc consisted of the same episode eight times in a row, it's surprising that the first [=DVDs=] sold (relatively) well. Though the later ones to a lesser extent; the second and third sold only half the amount the first one did.
33** On the other hand, the North American licensors of Season 2 knew very well that they would ''not'' be Critic Proof (plenty of fans had already vowed a boycott due to the extreme unpopularity of Endless Eight), and simply released all 14 episodes in a single set.
34* The anime adaptation of ''Anime/KanColle'' has been panned by fans and reviewers as mediocre and having a [[MoodWhiplash wildly inconsistent tone]], but sales figures indicate Studio Diomedea isn't going to be hurt in the slightest.
35* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'' is very popular among the Japanese audiences and even won the Anime Grand Prix award for Most Popular Anime in 2004 and 2005. Western reviewers liked the series but not as much as [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED its prequel]]. However, if you ever ask this to a ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' fan prepare to hear how this series is one of the worst things Creator/{{Sunrise}} ever created.
36* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'': Despite not having any international theatrical releases since the Johto era (the live-action ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu'' notwithstanding), in Japan, the twelfth film, ''[[Anime/PokemonArceusAndTheJewelOfLife Arceus and the Jewel of Life]]'', has become the highest-grossing anime film of 2009. People complain about the anime itself. Although it has lost some popularity, it's still extremely popular.
37** The Website/RottenTomatoes critical score for ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie'' is a very low 17%, and states that "Audiences other than children will find very little to entertain them". However, since it came out in the franchise's peak in popularity, the film was a huge financial success. Many schools admitted that hundreds of their students called in sick on opening week to see the movie, and the film is remembered somewhat fondly by the fandom. Also, most of the criticisms stem from the dumbed-down Creator/FourKidsEntertainment dub; the original Japanese movie was well-received.
38* ''VisualNovel/{{SHUFFLE}}'' got panned by review sites as just another annoying [[UnwantedHarem harem show]], and even when it was first licensed, the overwhelming opinion was that Creator/FUNimation must like losing money, [[ItWillNeverCatchOn because nobody would buy it]]. The DVD sales in North America were a surprising success, to the point that Funi produced a collector's box with the final volume.
39* ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'': Reviewers feel that the anime is anywhere from bad to mediocre, at best, but not a great show. It was the most popular anime of 2012. A second season premiered in summer 2014, retaining its popularity. In addition, other works from the ''Sword Art Online'' franchise began to make it overseas in that same year: a PS Vita game called ''Hollow Fragment'' got an English release around the same time, and Yen Press began to publish English translations of the light novels beginning April 2014.
40* The ''Anime/{{Tsugumomo}}'' manga has always been bashed by critics who have considered it a cheaply-made series with a plot that is little more than a [[PornWithPlot paper-thin ecchi vehicle]], but those same ecchi elements made it popular enough with fans to sell many volumes of the manga and spawn two profitable anime series.
41* ''One Room'' is critically reviled for its PanderingToTheBase, but the show's openness about being blatant WishFulfillment for lonely Japanese men made the originally unremarkable short anime popular enough to get merchandise lines and two successful sequels.
42* ''Manga/OnimaiImNowYourSister'' was ''torn apart'' from western critics and audiences for its unorthodox premise and elements, but became the best selling and top rated anime of its respective anime season in Japan.
43* Critics were generally disgusted with ''Anime/RedoOfHealer'', viewing it as little more than a shock-value revenge porn series (both figuratively and [[KarmicRape literally]]) that violated the boundaries of good taste and negatively compared it to ''Literature/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'', another series that had started off with a poor critical reception but managed to win back some respect as it went on. Anime viewers, however, made ''Redo'' one of the most-watched and talked about shows of 2021, though [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity largely for the same reason as critics]].
44[[/folder]]
45
46[[folder:Comic Books]]
47* Creator/BrianBendis and Creator/MarkMillar are two comic writers who've earned vocal detractors among certain fans, and yet their mainstream work for Marvel almost always sells huge amounts. Despite all the hate and controversy it garnered, Bendis' ''ComicBook/NewAvengers'' was one of the best-selling iterations of the [[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]] franchise in ''years''. Ditto for Millar's ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'', which is hated by many fans and critics but was still one of the biggest sellers Marvel put out at the time.
48* ''ComicBook/{{Jommeke}}'' is among the best-selling Flemish comic strips of all time, but has hardly had any serious critical attention or praise, mostly because it's a pure formulaic children's comic. Author Jef Nys was interviewed just a few times throughout his career and only received exhibitions, awards and a biography in the final decade of his life.
49* ComicBook/SpiderMan has been featured a ''lot'' of bad stories in recent years. ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga'' was universally reviled, ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' was crucified by critics and fans alike, and ''ComicBook/SpiderManChapterOne'' is one of those stories even Marvel has insisted [[LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain they never speak of again]]. Despite it all, Spidey still remains Marvel's mascot and biggest cash cow, something that likely won't change anytime soon.
50* ComicBook/{{Batman}} comics have a large chunk of fans for whom him and Bat-family books are the ''only'' DC books (if not the only comics altogether) they will follow. Consequently, [[https://evandorkin.tumblr.com/post/92670654698/gotta-have-my-batman as Evan Dworkin noted]], even the biggest AudienceAlienatingEra is unlikely to force the title book to stray far from the top 10 charts.
51[[/folder]]
52
53[[folder: Fan Works]]
54* ''VideoGame/TheSims4'' fan webcomic ''Little May's Vampire'' was infamous and bashed for its WifeHusbandry plotline of Caleb Vatore raising and eventually dating the titular character. However, it still receives significant number of fans, and the comic hasn't been removed from Website/{{DeviantArt}} since.
55[[/folder]]
56
57[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
58* It seems like nothing can dent the fanbase of the ''WesternAnimation/AlphaAndOmega'' films -- critics dismissed them as mediocre, general animation fans dismissed them as mediocre, and wider audiences dismissed them as mediocre. However, the fanbase of the films is composed mostly of wolf lovers and furries. Given the undiscerning taste of both groups, it should probably come as little surprise that the series has seven (DirectToVideo) sequels.
59* ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'' is {{Creator/Pixar}}'s worst-reviewed animated film (sitting at an even 40% at Website/RottenTomatoes), but that hasn't stopped the film from making huge bucks at the box office (though it ''was'' Pixar's lowest-grossing movie at the box office until ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'' came along). The ''{{Franchise/Cars}}'' franchise managed to make a whopping [[CashCowFranchise ten billion dollars]] in merchandise, although they're not as liked as other Pixar works. Despite Creator/DisneytoonStudios' SpinOff ''WesternAnimation/{{Planes}}'' being derided as a MerchandiseDriven cash grab by critics and audiences alike, it made back its budget more than four times over and got [[WesternAnimation/PlanesFireAndRescue a sequel]].
60* Although ''WesternAnimation/ChickenLittle'' is disliked by a large portion of Disney fans, with a 36% rating on RT, it managed to become a modest success at the box office. On the other hand, ''Chicken Little'' didn't become a franchise like ''Cars'' did (excluding a cameo of the title character in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'').
61* ''WesternAnimation/Dougs1stMovie'' was hated by critics for looking like a direct-to-video film, but did okay at the box office despite this. With that said, the studios clearly didn't think a sequel would be worth the risk, as Doug's first movie [[StillbornFranchise was also his last]].
62* ''WesternAnimation/TheEmojiMovie'': Hard to believe given all of the bile it received from critics and the internet (including [[Website/TvTropes This Very Wiki]]), but the film was a box office hit, making $217 million worldwide on a $50 million budget.
63* ''WesternAnimation/FreeBirds'' was torn apart by critics, but ended up being [[MedalOfDishonor the worst reviewed animated movie to be a box-office success]] until ''The Emoji Movie'' came 4 years later.
64* The original ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' movie was well-received, but most agree it suffered {{Sequelitis}} each passing installment. In contrast, every new movie made more money than the last... until the critically-thrashed ''[[WesternAnimation/IceAgeCollisionCourse Collision Course]]'' came around, although that film still ended up grossing $408.5 million worldwide (which is more than the original) [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff thanks to the international market]].
65* This tends to be the case with nearly all Creator/IlluminationEntertainment movies, with critics repeatedly rating them as being [[SoOkayItsAverage muddled or mediocre, with nothing exceptional in terms of story, morals, or characters]], but nonetheless bringing in massive box office dollars.
66** ''WesternAnimation/{{Minions}}'' was considered a pretty mediocre installment of the ''Franchise/DespicableMe'' franchise by critics with only a 56% rating on RT. [[https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=minions.htm The box office on the other hand...]]
67** Critics were lukewarm towards ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe3'', feeling the franchise had run its course and had little to add except the same old slapstick and jokes, and was clearly made just to appeal to small children. Nonetheless, the film was ''massively'' successful, grossing over ''one billion'' at the box office, making it the franchise's second most successful installment as well as one of the highest grossing animated films ever.
68** Both Creator/DrSeuss adaptations, ''WesternAnimation/TheLorax2012'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheGrinch2018'', received tepid reviews from critics, complaining in both cases that stretching a short and sweet children's picture book into a feature-length movie bloated the story while adding nothing of actual worth, but audiences were more entertained, and both films grossed several times their budgets.
69** ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'' received middling reviews from critics, who mostly considered it unexceptional and simplistic with little substance outside of references to [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros the video games it's based on]]. As expected from its connection to a massively popular series, though, it was an absolute smash hit, raking in nearly $400 million in its first weekend alone, giving it the biggest opening weekend gross of any animated movie ''ever''; it has since displaced the original ''WesternAnimation/{{Minions}}'' as Illumination's highest-grossing film, raking in well over a billion dollars worldwide.
70* ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook2'' was one of the worst Disney sequels as it replays a lot of the same scenes and character exchanges from the first film, especially considering there were plenty other elements of the novels' mythos or even just the original film that they could have expanded on. However, in spite of receiving a 18% on the Tomatometer, it still became a box office success just like the original film.
71* The remake of ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|2019}}'' was widely perceived as unnecessary and misguided even compared with [[Film/DisneyLiveActionRemakes Disney's other attempts]], and indeed reviewers and American audiences were not positive about [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks telling the same story again only with new graphics]]. Audiences in China and Europe still made it a billion dollar behemoth.
72* Critics and audiences considered the first ''WesternAnimation/TheNutJob'' to be mediocre at ''best'' with a Tomatometer of just 13%. Regardless, it went on to become a financial success anyway.
73* ''WesternAnimation/{{Scoob}}'' got ''very'' mixed reviews from critics. That didn't stop it from being #1 in VOD sales for 3 weeks straight, though.
74* ''WesternAnimation/SharkTale'' ended up being the worst reviewed Dreamworks movie of all time, but ended up as a box office success. However, [[StillbornFranchise it wasn't enough to turn the film into a franchise]].
75[[/folder]]
76
77[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
78* French critics generally despised most of the films Creator/JeanPaulBelmondo played in in TheSeventies and TheEighties (mostly action comedies and [[CowboyCop maverick cop]] films) and preferred his UsefulNotes/FrenchNewWave vehicles. The man still attracted big crowds nationally on his name alone. Critics actually ganged up against him in 1982 for ''Film/AceOfAces'' (which was a big box office success) as a very acclaimed film, Creator/JacquesDemy's ''Film/ARoomInTown'' (''Une Chambre en Ville''), came out at the same time and flopped. 23 critics published an article in ''Telerama'' magazine in which they panned ''Ace of Aces'', accusing it of being "engineered for success" and of "stealing tickets" to ''A Room in Town''. Belmondo answered to them that he didn't accuse Film/JamesBond of stealing his movie tickets when ''Stavisky'' underperformed against ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'' in 1974.
79* ''Film/LittleIndianBigCity'' was critically lambasted both in France and abroad (Creator/RogerEbert and Creator/GeneSiskel roasted it). That didn't prevent it from being the second biggest grosser at the 1994 French box office (7.87 million cinema admissions) behind only ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}'' (10 million). Ebert bizarrely and infamously attributed its success to "French unemployment rates" at the time.
80* Creator/MichaelBay films are like this:
81** ''Film/Armageddon1998'' was internationally the highest-grossing film of 1998 against a backdrop of mediocre-to-frosty reviews from critics, though it seems largely forgotten now.
82** ''Film/BadBoysII'', which Bay directed four years before ''Film/Transformers2007'', actually used all the same conventions. Critics hated it while the audience ate it up.
83** ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'' is currently the worst-reviewed movie ever to earn $400 million at the U.S. box office. And it actually made over ''$800 million'' worldwide, the first movie of 2009 to do so (even beating at least one of ''Film/TheDarkKnight''[='=]s records), so it will take some beating. It also won the MediaNotes/GoldenRaspberryAward for Worst Picture, becoming the highest-grossing movie to ever win the award.
84** ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'' (which [[SurprisinglyImprovedSequel got better reviews]] than ''Revenge of the Fallen'', but ''still'' extremely negative nonetheless) grossed over a billion dollars worldwide and was the fifth-highest-grossing movie ever until 2013.
85** ''Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction'' got the worst reviews of any installment in the Film/TransformersFilmSeries, but it was 2014's only film with a ten-digit gross worldwide.
86* Creator/PaulyShore did a trio of movies for Disney: ''Film/EncinoMan'', ''Film/SonInLaw'', and ''Film/InTheArmyNow''. All were critically savaged, with none breaking 25% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but in total they made about $110 million gross.
87* The only entry in the ''Film/ScaryMovie'' series to not get overall negative reviews was the first one. This didn't keep the others from making money, albeit not as much as the first.
88* The ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' sequels, especially ''[[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMenTellNoTales Dead Men Tell No Tales]]'', were lukewarmly received by critics but they made even more money than the significantly better-reviewed ''[[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl Curse of the Black Pearl]]''.
89* ''Film/RamboFirstBloodPartII'' was savaged by critics, but made triple its budget domestically and triple ''that'' internationally; ''Film/RamboIII'' was only slightly better reviewed and didn't do so well domestically, but still did pretty well internationally.
90* ''Film/RockyIV'' was panned by critics upon its release and got about 9 Razzie nominations, including "Worst Picture", yet that didn't prevent it from making over $300 million worldwide and becoming the highest-grossing Rocky film of all time. In other words, the critics' demands for people to avoid the movie at all costs backfired ''spectacularly''.
91* Creator/HappyMadisonProductions have many cases - says something that the company's only Fresh releases on Rotten Tomatoes, ''Film/ReignOverMe'' and ''Film/FunnyPeople'', are among their least profitable. Even ''Film/{{Pixels}}'', Happy Madison's last theatrical release, still made back its budget and then some internationally. The only straightforward comedy from founder Creator/AdamSandler to outright tank is ''Film/ThatsMyBoy''.
92* The live-action ''Film/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'' movies (the latter three in particular) have received nothing but hate from most critics. That hasn't stopped either from being huge successes... at least until the last one was [[SuicidalOverconfidence scheduled for the same release date]] as ''Film/TheForceAwakens''.
93* The ''Film/{{Twilight}}'' films were regularly ravaged by critics, with Creator/RogerEbert's [[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091118/REVIEWS/911199998/1023 reaction to]] ''New Moon'' being a commonly cited example. The series' highest Rotten Tomatoes rating was the 49% received by ''Eclipse''. This didn't stop the films from being unusually consistent box office hits - all four sequels grossed between $280-$300 million domestically and ranked in the top ten films of the year.
94* Many of Creator/TylerPerry's movies, though not considered awful, are usually not liked by critics. His movies do extremely well with African Americans, though.
95* Critic James Berardinelli [[http://www.reelviews.net/php_review_template.php?identifier=725 used the trope name regarding]] ''Film/AVPAlienVsPredator'', as the mere concept of two beloved cinematic monsters fighting for the first time will draw in audiences regardless of the film's quality.
96* ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra'': Mostly for being ''purposeful'' HamAndCheese, with prestigious actors such as Creator/ChristopherEccleston and Creator/JosephGordonLevitt realizing just how cheesy it was and deciding to eat all the scenery in sight.
97* Creator/KevinSmith tried to invoke this with ''Film/JerseyGirl'' by saying it "wasn't for critics". It didn't work so well. Then ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' tried to parody it by coming up with absurdist nonsense perpetrators Twisp and Catsby, and taunting all the critics who couldn't criticize them because it wasn't ''for'' them. This [[SpringtimeForHitler backfired]] on ''Penny Arcade'' as well when Twisp and Catsby instead became insanely popular.
98* ''Franchise/JurassicPark'':
99** ''Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom'' received the worst Website/RottenTomatoes score of any film in the franchise at the time, and overall middling reviews from critics and audiences alike, with general agreements that the series [[FranchiseZombie had run its course]], but that didn't stop the movie from grossing over $1.3 billion worldwide.
100** ''Film/JurassicWorldDominion'' received even ''worse'' critical reviews than ''Fallen Kingdom'' on both Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, and lukewarm reception from general audiences, but it nonetheless opened to a half-billion dollar box office gross in its opening weekend. It would also eventually go on to gross a billion dollars, being only the third movie released during the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic to do so after ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' and ''Film/TopGunMaverick'', both of which were much better-received.
101* The mostly negative critical reviews for ''[[Film/TheHangover The Hangover Part II]]'' didn't keep it from being hugely successful at the box office, largely due to goodwill from the critically-acclaimed original. However, ''Part III'' (which received even worse reviews), while still a box office success, faced a large drop-off from the second movie, making about $200 million dollars less than ''Part II'' had two years prior.
102* All of Creator/SeltzerAndFriedberg's movies have had overwhelmingly negative reviews, yet they still manage to more than make back their budget (except ''Film/DisasterMovie''). ''Epic Movie'' and ''Meet the Spartans'' both debuted at #1 at the box office on their opening weekends and ''Film/VampiresSuck'' at #2. All of their movies also have fairly low budgets, so really, no matter how bad their movies get, there will be enough people going to see them to make back their budgets several times over. This has eventually waned as ''The Starving Games'' didn't recoup its budget and their more recent films have had only a limited theatrical release before going to home media.
103* The Film/JamesBond films have had some poorly-reviewed entries over the years (with many of Creator/RogerMoore's films falling into that category [[CreatorBacklash by his own admission]]) that were nevertheless box office hits. ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'' is widely regarded as one of the weakest Bond films, but it became the highest-grossing film in the franchise until ''Film/GoldenEye'' was released. Similarly, ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'' and ''Film/AViewToAKill'' have gotten negative assessments from critics and audiences, but each still made more than $150 million at the box office, putting them in the top 10 highest-grossing movies of their respective release years.
104* ''Film/StreetFighter: The Movie'': The scathing reviews it got from critics didn't stop it from becoming one of the highest-grossing movies of 1994.
105* ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' is the third-highest-grossing film in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' franchise, adjusted for inflation, despite polarized reception. The same can be said for ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' and ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'': most critics liked ''Clones'' only modestly, and ''Rise'' became the lowest rated movie in the main series on Rotten Tomatoes, but fans still turned out in droves to see them.
106* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'' grossed $101 million in its first weekend, the third-widest opener of all time, despite highly polarized reviews (Roger Ebert and Leonard Maltin liked it, most other big-name critics did not).
107* ''Film/GodsNotDead'', a Christian propaganda film chronicling a devoutly Christian college freshman's bout with a snide atheist professor, was pummeled by secular and Christian movie critics alike. Yet it grossed more than $60 million in the U.S., which is both very rare for a propaganda film (of any kind) and actually pretty remarkable given the film's shoestring budget of two million dollars.
108* Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse:
109** ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'' combines this with PresumedFlop. It did underperform relative to expectations, but it still grossed $870 million worldwide and handily made its money back. It was one of the most successful films of its year; it is mainly remembered as doing poorly because it also suffered a precipitous second-weekend drop when most speculation was that the film would easily crack a billion.
110** ''{{Film/Suicide Squad|2016}}'' was critically trashed but managed to churn out profits, grossing $746 million worldwide compared to a $175 million budget.
111* ''Film/AssassinsCreed2016'' generally received bad reviews. One of the most positive called it "the best video game movie ever" and acknowledged that [[VideoGameMoviesSuck this was a backhanded compliment]]. Yet it made 60.5 million more than its budget of $125 million within a month, despite opening within a week of ''Film/RogueOne''.
112* The ''Film/FiftyShadesOfGrey'' trilogy. All three films were heavily panned by the critics and given very low scores on popular websites like Website/RottenTomatoes. However, this hasn't stopped each film from being a huge financial success.
113* The 2013 Platform/MetroManilaFilmFestival entry ''Film/MyLittleBossings'' was lambasted by critics as a cynical, in-your-face example of extreme ProductPlacement in a family film. Yet audiences didn't seem to care and it made ₱375.9 million (US$7.4 million) at the local box office. And it didn't deter lead actor Creator/VicSotto from releasing a sequel either.
114* ''Film/Movie43'' is considered to be one of the worst films of 2013, if not of all time. However, it managed to make $32.4 million out of a $6 million budget. That didn't stop it from becoming Rogue Pictures' last release for a few years, though.
115* Many {{horror}} films are this, because they have a [[SciFiGhetto poor reputation among critics]] and they tend to have meager budgets compared to other genres. Even the most critically lambasted movies that only manage to rack up gross in the lower double-digit millions can still be considered successes, because their budgets are in the range of single-digit millions.
116** ''Film/TheGrudge'' was poorly received by critics and audience alike, but made over $180 million against a $10 million budget. The remake, ''Film/TheGrudge2020'', also got negative reviews from critics and even worse reviews from audiences (including an extremely rare "F" rating from [=CinemaScore=]), but it still made back more than triple its budget.
117** None of the ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' instalments after the [[Film/SawI first]] [[Film/SawII three]] [[Film/SawIII films]] and ''Film/SawX'' received much praise from critics, many of whom regard the franchise as mindless TorturePorn. They still made millions of dollar profits regardless.
118** The entire ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' series has continuously gotten terrible reviews from critics, with only [[Film/FridayThe13th1980 the first film]] having a "Fresh" rating on Website/RottenTomatoes, but even then only barely and mostly [[VindicatedByHistory in retrospect]]. Nonetheless, every film has been very profitable, usually making back their budgets several times over, although much of that has to do with their minuscule budgets. Jason Voorhees has also become a pop culture icon and raked in many hundreds of millions in merchandising and tie-in media in spite of the general reception of his films.
119** ''Film/TheDevilInside'' grossed $33 million in its opening weekend in spite of universal scorn regarding its NoEnding. Yet precisely because of this, it didn't make much afterward: those weekend numbers ended up forming more than half of its domestic gross.
120** The last three entries of ''Film/ParanormalActivity'' are universally disliked by most critics and audience, but their nature as FoundFootage films ensures that NoBudget always applies and profits are guaranteed (''The Ghost Dimension'', the one film considered a disappointment, still generated gross seven times its budget not counting marketing, which shows you how low-cost the franchise is).
121** ''Film/{{Ouija}}'' is a formulaic horror movie and disliked by virtually everyone, but grossed over twenty times its budget.
122** ''Film/{{Annabelle}}'', ''Film/TheNun'', and ''Film/TheCurseOfLaLlorona'' are less-welcomed entries in Film/TheConjuringUniverse. That didn't stop them from raking up as much money as other films in the franchise that did earn praise.
123** The [[ForeignRemake American remake]] of ''Film/OneMissedCall'' got universally horrendous reviews from critics (including a rare 0% score on Website/RottenTomatoes from 81 reviews, making it the second-worst reviewed film on the site) and audiences alike, but nonetheless made back more than twice its budget, making it a moderate financial success. Nonetheless, it provided to be [[TrendKiller the final nail in the coffin for the fledging trend]] of J-horror remakes of the time.
124** ''Film/FiveNightsAtFreddys2023'' got largely negative reviews from critics and audiences not familiar with the source material, but as expected by being based on [[Franchise/FiveNightsAtFreddys a popular and successful video game franchise]], [[CriticalDissonance Die-hard fans were much more positive]] and it had the best opening weekend of any film by Creator/BlumhouseProductions, in spite of also releasing simultaneously on Creator/{{Peacock}} to boot, and had the second-best opening weekend domestic gross ''ever'' (only slightly behind ''Film/BlackWidow2021'').
125* ''Film/{{Venom|2018}}'' was mostly trashed by critics but earned over $850 million worldwide, making nearly twice what it needed to break even and breaking several October box office records. The film had a massive case of CriticalDissonance; its audience rating in Rotten Tomatoes is a solid 80%, with many considering that it is a fun, if not necessarily glowing, popcorn flick. The film was also supported by its overseas gross, particularly from China.
126* ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' is one of the most mocked movies ever made, even suffering from CreatorBacklash, but it did gross ''$238.2 million'' (although its high budget made it not very profitable).
127* ''Film/AStarIsBorn1976'' received mixed to terrible reviews from critics upon its original release. For starters, critics thought the casting of Barbra Streisand as a rock star was ridiculous. Even today the movie has a 36 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating. Nevertheless, it was the second highest-grossing film of 1976, and the signature tune from the movie, "Evergreen," won the Oscar for Best Song.
128* ''Film/SpaceJam'' was pilloried by critics as a cynical cash-grab for being based on a [[MerchandiseDriven marketing campaign for Nike sneakers]]. However, the film was based on a ''very popular'' ad campaign that helped [[PopularityPolynomial revive the popularity]] of the WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes characters in TheNineties, and starring superstar basketball player at the time UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan AsHimself playing a larger-than-life game of hoops. As a result, it was a box-office hit.
129* ''Film/MissionImpossibleII'' received middling reviews from critics and is considered by fans to be worst movie in the franchise, but it still managed to gross $546.4 million and was the highest-grossing movie of 2000.
130* ''Film/SleepingWithTheEnemy'' was primarily negatively received by most critics, who criticized the film for shifting to slasher cliches and turning a possessive husband into an evil psycho. That didn't stop the film from making over $100 million domestically and ending ''Film/HomeAlone'' top spot at the box office, largely due to ''Creator/JuliaRoberts''' presence.
131* The yuppie crime thriller ''Firewall'' staring ''Creator/HarrisonFord'' and ''Creator/PaulBettany'' as the good guy and bad guy was largely bashed by critics as an unoriginal action/crime film with a too-much rehashed concept, with some audiences feeling the same way. While it wasn't a success due to it's unusually high budget, it still made $44 million domestically, a fair amount for the genre.
132[[/folder]]
133
134
135[[folder:Food]]
136* Food connoisseurs think well-done steaks are a waste of quality meat. Plenty of diners won’t eat their steaks any other way.
137* Drenching food in condiments like ketchup or soy sauce is considered extremely bad form by both chefs and food critics alike because the natural flavor of the dish will no longer be detectable. Many people simply prefer the taste of the condiments to that of the food.
138* UsefulNotes/McDonalds is widely viewed as the purest example of unhealthy, cheap, nutrition-devoid fast food and considered the low bar for restaurants in America. Despite the general scorn from food critics, connoisseurs, and healthy eating advocates, the chain sells millions of meals and dozens of new restaurants open every month around the world.
139[[/folder]]
140
141[[folder:Literature]]
142* The ''Literature/LeftBehind'' series. The books are generally poorly written, and there have been many articles written that give specific examples of just how stupidly the characters act. Even from the perspective of Evangelical Protestant Christianity, the theology behind it is suspect. Yet the target audience strongly believes in the books' message and likes them anyway.
143* Creator/DanBrown's books are lambasted for his clunky writing style and [[FalselyAdvertisedAccuracy poorly researched material]], yet he regularly sells millions of copies.
144* The same could be said of Creator/JeffreyArcher.
145* The various books in ''Literature/TheTwilightSaga'':
146** ''[[Literature/Twilight2005 Twilight]]'' might cross over into SoBadItsGood territory; many who really do hate the writing style read it as a GuiltyPleasure, and there are all the people who plow through it just so they can bash it without being accused of complaining about books they haven't read.
147** ''Literature/BreakingDawn''. Despite the frequent hate you see, the earlier books got some decent reviews when they were released, it was later that the group of detractors grew as large as it did. ''Breaking Dawn'', however, was actively disliked by many ''fans'' of the series, and ''still'' sold incredibly well.
148* A fictional version, from Ben Bova's ''Cyberbooks'': at a meeting in a publishing house, the staff discuss the latest "[[Creator/SidneySheldon Sheldon]] [[Literature/{{Dracula}} Stoker]]" manuscript and judge it to be complete rubbish, but a guaranteed bestseller. They recommend, "Hold our noses and buy it."
149* Bestselling author of the ''Literature/MikeHammer'' series Creator/MickeySpillane can't be harmed by critics. He also admits that he's OnlyInItForTheMoney:
150-->''I have no fans. You know what I got? Customers. And customers are your friends.''\
151''Inspiration is an empty bank account.''[[note]]Spillane was wrong. Music/JohnZorn recorded an {{Homage}} album built around Spillane's work: ''Music/{{Spillane}}''.[[/note]]
152* ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland'' was [[VindicatedByHistory originally panned by critics]], who found the story hard to follow and preposterous, but it was positively adored by its readers. It would eventually become one of the most influential and popular novels of all time.
153* Many critics panned Creator/AynRand's ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'', including Whittaker Chambers of the ''National Journal'', who said in a review of the book that "from every page, I could hear the book screaming, '[[ValuesDissonance to a gas chamber, go!]]'" Notwithstanding critics' dislike of the book, it still continues to sell tens of thousands of copies every year, unusual since the book was first published in 1957, and has been continuously in print ever since.
154* ''Literature/TheBerenstainBears'' has been attacked by critics left-and-right since its early days who've accused the series of being formulaic and saccharine, but that hasn't stopped it from becoming one of ''the'' most beloved children's book series of all time. An attempt to break this status backfired spectacularly when Hanna Rosin of ''Slate'' wrote a negative article about the series following Jan Berenstain's death (even going as far as to say "good riddance"), only for readers to angrily call her out on the "too soon" status of the article and [[SpeakIllOfTheDead insensitive tone]] she took, of which she subsequently apologized for.
155* Despite being generally negatively regarded by critics, ''Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey'' and its sequels had sold 125 million copies worldwide by the middle of 2015 and the first book is one of the fastest selling paperbacks in the UK ever; likewise, the [[Film/FiftyShadesOfGrey first film]] made $571 million at the box office (against a budget of $40 million) and is the fourth-highest grossing romance film of all time.
156* The ''Literature/ThreeHundredSixtyFiveDays'' trilogy (which was partly inspired by ''Fifty Shades of Grey'') has received much criticism for its writing style, and for portraying kidnapping and sexual violence in a romantic or glamorized manner, yet they still sold well enough to become international bestsellers and received movie adaptations.
157* ''Literature/InAnotherWorldWithMySmartphone'' is viewed by many as one of, if not the worst, isekai series of all time thanks to its generic setting, overpowered protagonist and harem of bland love interests, and a plot that not only has no meaningful conflict, but seemingly goes out of its way to destroy any possible tension or threat to its heroes as often as it can. The anime adaptation has received similar criticisms, as well as for its middling production values. Despite all the critical panning, the light novels show no sign of slowing down, having reached over 20 volumes and being popular enough to be licensed in English, and the anime adaptation made back more than enough money to receive a second season years after the first season aired.
158* ''Literature/TheIrregularAtMagicHighSchool'' has been frequently criticized for its {{Invincible Hero}}es, IncestSubtext, and heavy use of controversial nationalist talking points (for example, turning America and China, the two largest export markets for Japanese media, into StrawmanPolitical villains), to the point that even ''[[ItWillNeverCatchOn the first editor of the light novels themselves]]'' [[ItWillNeverCatchOn thought they weren't worth publishing]]. Nonetheless, the books became one of Creator/DengekiBunko's biggest hits, second only to juggernauts like ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'', and the anime adaptation only increased its visibility even more. The second anime season was mocked as soon as it was announced for its SequelGap and seeming irrelevance to anime and light novel trends in TheNewTwenties, but managed to get just as many, if not more, viewers as the previous season.
159[[/folder]]
160
161[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
162* ''Magazine/TVGuide'' had a review disparaging a ''Series/Goosebumps1995'' special. Kids watched it anyway.
163* ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' was attacked as early as its 1950s debut by satirists and critics who even then accused it of being sappy, old-fashioned, un-hip, or downright reactionary. Despite a predominately middle-aged and elderly audience, and despite clinging stubbornly to musical styles that were rapidly falling out-of-fashion, it [[LongRunner ran in various incarnations from 1955 until 1982]], and has been more-or-less continuously appearing on TV in reruns ever since. Over sixty years after its debut, you can still catch episodes every weekend on many PBS stations throughout the US, while most of its younger and hipper competitors have long-since left the airwaves.
164* ''Series/{{Oz}}'' never got the kind of acclaim that other {{Creator/HBO}} shows like ''Series/TheSopranos'', ''Series/SixFeetUnder'', and ''Series/TheWire'' did. Nevertheless, it had (has) one of the staunchest fan bases and was one of the network's highest-rated shows.
165* ''Series/TrueBlood'' became increasingly derided in its later seasons but that didn't seem to make a dent in the ratings.
166* Critics were largely dismissive of ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', regarding it as a pale imitation of ''Series/StargateSG1''. Nevertheless, it was an excellent ratings performer for Sci-Fi Channel.
167* ''Series/MyFamily'' was slaughtered by critics, and the stars outright refused to film one episode because it was so bad. Yet it was one of the UK's top-rated sitcoms and aired over ten series.
168* ''Series/TheSecretLifeOfTheAmericanTeenager'' largely got mixed to negative reviews from critics decrying the series as feeling like a melodramatic after-school special. It still received the highest premiere viewership ratings ever for an ABC Family original program, getting five seasons (with 121 episodes in total) and served as a StarMakingRole for Creator/ShaileneWoodley.
169* ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen''. Despite getting largely mixed reviews and critics expressing disgust at the often sexist humor and unlikable characters, it still had a following substantial enough to earn it twelve seasons (262 episodes in total).
170* Almost anything on the Belgian television network [[UsefulNotes/FlemishTVStations VTM]] could qualify. Critics despise the network due to it being the first commercial Belgian network, which allows room for more commercial fare that critics just will absolutely hate (such as ''Wedden, dat...?'', ''Walters Verjaardagsshow'', ''Rad van Fortuin'', ''Blind Date'', ''Bompa'', ''Nonkel Jef'' etc.) with only the rare TV show on it (such as ''Moeder, waarom leven wij?'', ''Ons geluk'' and ''The Raf and Ronny Show'') being exempt from this fate and blame it for making society dumber due to the fact that they permanently give shows on there low ratings, but the network was so successful that Medialaan, the creator of that network, started publishing four more networks in Belgium in addition to that one.
171* Every trash television show, from ''Series/TheMortonDowneyJrShow'' to ''Series/TheJerrySpringerShow'' has been condemned by critics as 'the absolute worst in TV entertainment', but they always had high ratings.
172* ''Series/BigBrother'' is a reality TV series condemned by almost all TV critics worldwide in all countries, yet had some of the highest viewerships of all time.
173* ''Series/MyKitchenRules'' is a very huge target of mockery; almost every recap articles of the episode would contain not-so-subtle insults regarding the contestants' fake personalities and their cooking skills. Even on its own FB fan page, a lot of viewers would spew their hate for the show's exaggerated drama and the painfully obvious fake dialogue, giving the show the nickname "My Kitchen Rigged". The show itself has consistently placed as #1 in terms of viewing figures in Australia.
174* ''{{Series/Jessie}}'' on Creator/DisneyChannel. There is hardly a review published that didn't call this one of the worst TV shows out there, to the point where sites that don't even normally review TV shows (like sports news site ''Deadspin'' and humor site ''Cracked'') would join in just to point out how awful this show was. Yet it was one of the most watched and most renewed show on Disney Channel when it ran.
175* ''Series/EveryWitchWay'' on {{Creator/Nickelodeon}} likewise got huge episode orders and enough viewership to justify a spin-off despite nearly every critic who screened it claiming it was almost unwatchable.
176* In spite of the criticism ''Series/DudeWhatWouldHappen'' got, it somehow lasted for ''2 years''. The same goes for ''Destroy Build Destroy'', but was received a little better than the former [[JustHereForGodzilla due to it having]] Music/AndrewWK.
177* ''Thuis'' is one of the most hated soap operas in Flanders with critics and people alike, but it keeps getting the award for "highest number of viewers" on ''Vlaamse Televisie Sterren''.
178* InUniverse, the ShowWithinAShow ''When the Whistle Blows'' from ''Series/{{Extras}}'' makes Andy Millman rich, famous, and loved by his millions of fans, but the critics absolutely loathe it, and increasingly, so does Andy, who would rather have critical acclaim than popularity with audiences.
179* ''Series/KeepingUpWithTheKardashians'' has been received ''very'' negatively by critics and Website/IMDb users (it has a [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1086761/?ref_=tt_rec_tt 2.8/10]] on the site) alike, but according to Website/{{Wikipedia}}, it has attracted high viewership ratings and won several audience awards, and is one of E!'s most successful shows.
180* ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' premiered in 1956 to universal critical lashing, equating it to the end of civilization as we know it. 65 years hence, critics still can't touch it.
181* ''Series/ThirteenReasonsWhy'' received positive critical reception for its first season but seasons 2 and 3 were both eviscerated by critics. Despite Creator/{{Netflix}} not releasing viewing figures, it is clear that people are watching because ''13 Reasons Why'' was renewed for season 4 before season 3 was even released, despite all the negative reviews.
182* ''Series/{{Baywatch}}'' was much-hated and was once voted the worst TV show exported to Britain, but it was a huge success when it first aired and is fondly recalled even to this day.
183* The less said about [[HowTheMightyHaveFallen the once-massive hatedom]] for ''Series/BarneyAndFriends'', the more you'll understand. 90% of older kids hated the hell out of it (and no doubt helped cause ''Film/BarneysGreatAdventure'' to be a BoxOfficeBomb) but it was quite a merchandising success.
184* ''Series/{{Manimal}}'' is often regarded as one of the worst television shows ever made (however, there ''are'' shows that are more deserving of that title), but it still has managed to have a decently-sized cult following.
185* In spite of the {{Narm}} that ''Series/{{Glee}}'' was known for, it was a huge success for Fox and ran for 6 seasons and ''121 episodes''.
186[[/folder]]
187
188[[folder:Music]]
189* Music/{{Liberace}} was undoubtedly a talented pianist, but critics despised him from bringing ClassicalMusic to kitschy low ends. In a famous reaction to this criticism, Liberace said: "[[TakeThatCritics I cried all the way to the bank]]."
190* Music/RascalFlatts, at least from about 2004-2010. Ever since Dann Huff became their producer, they've been widely criticized for many reasons: Huff's bombastic production; Gary [=LeVox's=] over-the-top, whiny, nasal singing voice; and unimpressive song choices. Such derision didn't stop them from continuing to land in the Top 10, sell lots of albums, win lots of awards, and overall be the top band in country music for several years running. It would seem that the band eventually learned their lesson in 2010, when their label (Disney-owned Lyric Street) closed, and they moved over to the indie label Big Machine Records to greater critical acclaim, but generally diminishing returns on the charts as Music/LadyAntebellum and Music/ZacBrownBand took over as the dominant bands in the genre (before they, too, tapered off).
191* Both Music/LedZeppelin and Music/BlackSabbath were dismissed by critics in their early years, which didn't stop them from becoming very popular anyway. Nowadays [[VindicatedByHistory the critics are usually more appreciative]], however.
192* This trope applies to every well-known ProgressiveRock band you could think of, with the possible exception of Music/KingCrimson. Bands such as {{Music/Yes}}, Music/{{Genesis|Band}}, Music/TheMoodyBlues, and Music/EmersonLakeAndPalmer were loathed by critics during the early 1970s prog heyday. Still, music fans flocked to their shows and bought their albums.
193* Music/GrandFunkRailroad was largely savaged by critics and [[http://snopes.com/music/artists/clapton2.asp even found themselves at the butt of an urban legend]], yet found significant commercial success even outside the LowestCommonDenominator. As ''{{Website/Snopes}}'' put it:
194-->And Grand Funk wasn't an act of the cute, well-groomed, sugary variety (like their contemporaries the Osmonds or the Bay City Rollers, or later entries such as the Spice Girls or the Backstreet Boys) who garnered huge followings by appealing to prepubescent girls or drooling adolescent males -- their records were bought by, and their concerts attended by, "real" rock fans.
195* Music/{{Nickelback}} can be seen as the modern-day version of Grand Funk Railroad in this respect. They have been widely panned by critics, were once voted the worst band of all time, countless Website/YouTube videos are devoted to picking apart how all their songs sound the same, and a Finnish university student even wrote [[https://erepo.uef.fi/handle/123456789/1230 a paper]] dedicated to figuring out why they're hated by many. It hasn't stopped the band from selling more than 50 million albums worldwide. As Chad Kroeger once noted, "Yeah, everybody hates us. We suck. Sure. But you know, somebody out there is buying our albums anyway."
196* A lot of late 1970s/early 1980s ArenaRock bands were despised by critics while still selling multi-platinum albums. None got it worse than Music/{{Toto}}, who were accused of using their industry connections (they'd all been prolific session musicians before they formed the band) to rig the Grammy Awards in 1983.
197* In the 1980s, Music/StevieNicks was commonly dismissed by 'highbrow' rock critics (''Magazine/RollingStone'' was particularly egregious in this regard) who fawned on her former lover and current bandmate Lindsey Buckingham, notwithstanding that his albums were only a fraction as popular as hers. Many of those same critics did a perfect about-face and hailed her as an elder stateswoman of rock and roll in the late 1990s and 2000s.
198* Music critics hated the entire HairMetal genre during the 1980s, but that didn't stop it from becoming the biggest music genre in the world during that decade. When {{Grunge}} became popular in the early 1990s and pushed hair metal out of the spotlight, those critics breathed a sigh of relief and embraced the 'earthy, genuine, and intelligent' new rock genre. However, 80s nostalgia has helped the genre experience a resurgence in popularity with bands like Music/MotleyCrue and Music/{{Poison}} having highly successful tours, with some of these bands even releasing new albums.
199* Music/BritneySpears has one of the biggest groups of detractors in all of pop land but somehow manages to get those #1 singles and albums, sell out tours, get hired for big bucks for TV shows, and generally remain relevant and popular in the public eye.
200* At the height of its popularity, {{Dubstep}} was reviled by every music critic, lambasted as a tuneless disgrace to all music. It's still widely loved by a huge number of fans and the artists that produce and play it are still widely commercially successful.
201* Funk Carioca, a genre in Brazil that is a derivative of Miami bass[[note]](The nomenclature "funk carioca", coming from the Rio de Janeiro city demonym - where a lot of the genre's representatives come from - is usually given to distinguish it from the rhythm-and-blues derived brand of funk)[[/note]]. People mention the over-sexualization of women and the genre's association with drug dealers and other kinds of criminal elements as reasons, and as such is reviled by critics, but still very popular by the masses.
202** Brazil also has the genre known as "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%BAsica_sertaneja#Sertanejo_universit%C3%A1rio College Country]]" (''sertanejo universitário''), which the masses love even if it's otherwise panned for shallow themes and vapid lyrics.
203* When she first appeared, most critics said, and not without some justification, that Music/LadyGaga would still be a C-List Girl Singer with no record contract were it not for her outlandish behavior, and that her 'true talent' wasn't music, but rather PR management. Millions of her fans surprisingly failed to care and buy her albums in droves. [[GrowingTheBeard Her later material even won critics over]].
204* Classical music is often thought of as being above such battles, but Music/GiacomoPuccini is an example of a composer who's effectively Critic Proof. There is a large body of informed opinion in the classical world which argues that Puccini may have had a knack for catchy tunes, but compared to his compatriot Music/GiuseppeVerdi he had very little talent for constructing musical drama, and most of his stories, however promising, are effectively ruined by the steaming ladles of musical {{Narm}} that he poured over them. However, none of this seems to affect Puccini's box office, and he remains one of the most popular opera composers ever. As Verdi once advised opera house director Giulio Gatti-Casazza, the box office receipts are the only gauge of success: "The theater is meant to be full, not empty."
205* Music/BillyJoel has been known to have been savaged critically, [[ItsPopularNowItSucks at least at the height of his success]], but according to Website/{{Wikipedia}} has sold 150 million albums worldwide as of 2013. His 1978 album ''52nd Street'' (which bears the distinction of being the first album mass-manufactured for UsefulNotes/CompactDisc in 1982) won the MediaNotes/GrammyAward for Album of the Year, he's a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and many of his hits have become standards.
206* The Music/KidzBop albums definitely qualify, albeit not so much with professional critics as with more casual music fans. The main complaints are that they {{Bowdlerize}} already mediocre songs by censoring the lyrics (in some cases [[AccidentalInnuendo actually making the lyrics dirtier]] and even so, [[AgeInappropriateArt the lyrics are still not appropriate for kids]]) and have kids sing the songs, never mind that they can't even sing and might not even be going through puberty, yet these albums still sell enough to warrant 44 albums.
207* Music/EltonJohn very rarely, especially [[ItsPopularNowItSucks at the height of his fame]] got the kind of critical respect he had during his singer-songwriter period for his albums (although he had released his fair share of inconsistent albums as well, even his more notable albums and songs received unfair criticism), yet he remained one of the top acts of UsefulNotes/TheSeventies and has been very successful at many times since his heyday. Much of the blame can be due to [[WolverinePublicity his very high profile all over the media]], and some of it due to the fact he adopted an increasingly flamboyant [[CampGay image]] as he [[NewSoundAlbum changed to a more glam-rock and pop-oriented sound]] by ''Honky Chateau''.
208* The Music/{{Eagles}}: One of the most popular rock bands of all time, and one of the most universally critically reviled. Allmusic is one of the few review sites that has anything good to say about them.
209* The early years of HipHop were heavily criticized by so-called music experts. It was bashed in the 70s and 80s as [[NoTrueScotsman not being real music]] and [[ItWillNeverCatchOn just a rebellious childhood fad that would soon pass]], since there were other things that went with the music, like graffiti, break dancing, etc. Then during the 90s and 2000s, despite the music growing in popularity, it was considered by many critics [[TheNewRockAndRoll to be dangerous to society]] and there were even [[MoralGuardians attempts during the 90s from politicians to get the music banned from the States]] (none of which really went anywhere). Nowadays, in the 2020s, it still has a number of critics, yet Hip Hop has been ranked the most popular music genre in the world in terms of physical and downloadable sales.
210* Invoked by name by the 2004 edition of ''The New Magazine/RollingStone Album Guide'' in its review of Music/{{Ratt}}'s ''Out of the Cellar.''
211* "We Built This City" by Music/{{Starship}} is often regarded as one of the worst songs ever recorded, a title that is mainly the fault of the song's infamous music video and ''Blender'' magazine's (kinda [[BiasSteamroller bias-fueled]]) "50 Worst Songs Ever" list,, yet it was a #1 hit when it was released back in 1985 and still gets airplay on many '80s radio stations, along with getting used in many films and TV shows even to this day.
212* Music/Maroon5 has been mostly panned by both professional and amateur reviewers after ''Overexposed'', criticizing the band for [[SellOut selling out]] since that album and making meaningless, radio-friendly music. However, all of that hate has yet to keep them from churning out many hit singles and scoring multiple Platinum-certified records.
213* Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" has been constantly mocked throughout the years, yet is still a favorite of Christmas radio stunting schedules.
214* Music/{{Weezer}}'s 2005 LP ''Make Believe'' is generally seen by critics and fans as one of their weaker efforts, but it's also one of their best-selling albums and spawned their only major pop hit, "Beverly Hills".
215* Back in the day, critics would write utterly scating reviews of Music/PinkFloyd's albums, but this did nothing to stop them from having many of the best selling albums of all time, including ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon'', which was ''the'' best selling album of all time until being surpassed by Michael Jackson's ''Music/{{Thriller}}''.
216* Music/{{Eminem}}, while regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, consistently sells millions of records and outselling almost every other rapper despite having faced powerful critical backlash to all of his albums starting from 2004. This especially affects his work starting from ''Recovery'', a massive commercial hit combining ArenaRock with his hyper-technical rap style, which audiences delighted in, but critics largely sneered at. He has also faced significant backlash for his use of VulgarHumor in a time when bigoted shock-comedy is out of fashion, and for a perceived stereotype of his audience being LowerClassLout white males with reactionary social politics. (This is factually inaccurate; Eminem's fanbase was overwhelmingly left-aligned and female at his peak, and still skews female today.)
217[[/folder]]
218
219[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
220* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' is a frequent target of mockery, but it's also one of the most popular comic strips around, appearing in over 2,000 newspapers worldwide and is still profitable through merchandising (which creator Jim Davis freely admits was [[MoneyDearBoy his entire reason for making the strip]]).
221[[/folder]]
222
223[[folder:ProfessionalWrestling]]
224* Wrestling/HulkHogan has long been criticized by SmartMark fans and journalists for being boring, formulaic, and a politicking glory hound. None of this stopped Hogan from becoming the top draw in WWF from the mid-80s to the early-90s and one of the most famous pro wrestlers of all time, with only Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin, [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] and Wrestling/JohnCena obtaining a similar amount of success in the company as the Hulkster (and Cena received similar criticism by smark fans as well).
225[[/folder]]
226
227[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
228* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' falls under this at times:
229** Even discounting the impact the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic had on the game, 2020 was a rough year for Magic; Standard that year put out some of the most broken cards in recent memory-- between half a dozen {{Game Breaker}}s being printed in Throne of Eldraine alone, the Companion mechanic in Ikoria warping every single format in the game, and Zendikar Rising basically causing everyone to build a '4 color goodstuff' archetype thanks to [[https://scryfall.com/card/znr/232/omnath-locus-of-creation Omnath, Locus of Creation]] being an incredible build-around, people were complaining that the design team had gone off the rails. Despite this, 2020 was said to be one of Magic's most successful years in terms of sales.
230** The ''Secret Lair'' product line is derided for its lack of quality control, capitalizing on FOMO to sell overpriced products, and willingness to tie into non-''Magic'' intellectual property, but it is objectively one of the most profitable products Wizards puts out.
231* Contemporary reviews of the 1935 game ''TabletopGame/{{Monopoly}}'' are largely negative, with common complaints including the [[UnstableEquilibrium runaway leader problem]], its implementation of PlayerElimination, the amount of luck, and the game being too long for what it is. It still sells a ton of copies and is a frequent ThemedStockBoardGame. In fact, it's the fourth best-selling board game of all time, only behind ''TabletopGame/{{Backgammon}}'', ''TabletopGame/{{Checkers}}'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Chess}}'' (all of which have centuries-long histories and are still well-regarded).
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234[[folder:Theatre]]
235* The [[IrishmanAndAJew Jewish/Irish]] ethnic comedy play ''Abie's Irish Rose'' opened on Broadway in 1922, and quickly became a laughingstock of theatre critics. It closed five years later, having run longer than any previous Broadway show.
236* Creator/AndrewLloydWebber's [[UsefulNotes/TheEighties Eighties]] musicals ''Theatre/{{Cats}}'' and ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' were heavily criticized as empty {{Spectacle}}, but were phenomenally successful with audiences anyway.
237* ''Theatre/LesMiserables'':
238** It was panned by critics after the first performance in the 1980s. The cast expected empty seats at the next performance. It is now the longest-running musical in the world.
239** ''Les Mis'' received negative reviews ''in the U.K.'' at the beginning but that ''American'' critics and audiences were united in application, with the musical making the cover of ''Newsweek'' and getting much press, thus making it an InvertedTrope[=/=]PlayedStraight depending on the location.
240* In-story example: In ''Theatre/DreamGirl'', Jim is fired by a publishing house after he turns down ''Always Opal'' (an obvious FictionalCounterpart of ''Literature/ForeverAmber''), which proceeds to sell out at bookstores everywhere. "If I had it to do over again, I'd still turn that book down," he tells his sister-in-law Georgina, who completely agrees with him on the book's trashiness: "It's nothing but a lot of dressed-up smut, atrociously written, and all in very bad taste, if you ask me."
241%%* The Broadway {{Retool}} of ''Theatre/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' subverted this. Most of the reviews were bad if not scathing, and it was completely shut out of Tony nominations, but it still posted healthy grosses...for about five months. Once summer passed, ticket sales plunged and it closed the following January. Half of the problem was that it opened just one day before the Broadway stage adaptation of Don Bluth's ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}'', another critical dud courting families and nostalgic millennials, did; the other half was that ''Theatre/DearEvanHansen'' and ''Theatre/ComeFromAway'' were breaking out big. Combine that with ''Theatre/{{Frozen}}'' being due to arrive the following spring, and the producers gave up trying to push the show in New York. ''Charlie'' did break house records for the Lunt-Fontanne during its final Christmastime run of performances, but family-friendly shows tend to do well then anyway. The West End version of ''Charlie'', by comparison, managed to get three high-grossing Christmas seasons in before closing; even though it opened to a very mixed reception in London, it still drew audiences with its massive {{Spectacle}} -- which the Broadway version notably lacked. Time will tell if the Broadway version does well on the touring circuit.
242* If the reviews for the movie adaptation are to be believed (with Janet Maselin calling the musical "a horror on the stage" and Jonathan Rosenbaum calling it "terrible" - FridgeLogic suggests that they are to talk given that they only did movie reviews and never reviewed a stage musical once), critics absolutely hated ''Beatlemania'' (a tribute musical for Music/TheBeatles), but it was successful enough to run for a total of 1,006 performances from May of 1977 to October of 1979.
243[[/folder]]
244
245[[folder:Toys]]
246* The ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls Equestria Girls]]'' line of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePony'' dolls are fairly huge sellers, but they're mocked by nearly all MLP and doll fans/collectors for their cheapness and hideousness.
247[[/folder]]
248
249[[folder:Video Games]]
250* Most EA Sports franchises, though ''VideoGame/FIFASoccer'' and ''VideoGame/NHLHockey'' have been acclaimed in later years. Part of FIFA's success should be credited to the poor job Konami did with ''VideoGame/ProEvolutionSoccer'' on the last couple years.
251* ''VideoGame/EnterTheMatrix'' sold five million copies despite being panned by critics (and many gamers, ''after'' they bought it).
252* Gamespot once gave out an annual "[[MedalOfDishonor Worst Game Everyone Played]]" award until it stopped doing so after 2010. Past winners included:
253** 2010: ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV''
254** 2009: ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars: Republic Heroes''
255** 2008: ''Film/IronMan''
256** 2007: ''Film/SpiderMan3'' (Wii and [=PS2=] versions)
257** 2006: ''VideoGame/JawsUnleashed''
258* [[TheProblemWithLicensedGames Licensed games]] tend to fare this way. ''VideoGame/Superman64'', despite being widely considered one of the worst games ever made, actually sold pretty well.[[note]]Probably helping quite a bit was the fact that [[Main/NotScreenedForCritics the game magazines got their review copies late and by the time they were printed the game had already been out a couple weeks.]] Though by that point the bad word of mouth was in full swing, rightly so.[[/note]]
259* When ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros2'' came out, some critics gave it harsh reviews for being a MissionPackSequel to ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosWii'', but it became the [[KillerApp fourth best-selling game for the 3DS]].
260* ''Valhalla Knights'' has managed to become a franchise despite scathing reviews in the North American gaming media.
261* Gaming critics hated almost everything about the Platform/{{Wii}}, which eventually sold over 100 million units worldwide (the third home console to do so). It helped that the Wii predominantly targeted casual and non-gamers - who generally wouldn't bother defending it against the gaming crowd because they're not invested even if they did see it being bashed - rather than the typical console audience.[[note]]Those critics had a point though, as those casual fans weren't interested in the Platform/WiiU, which completely bombed. Though how much is that and how much is that so few people knew it wasn’t a new version like the Wii Mini is uncertain.[[/note]]
262* The ''VideoGame/JustDance'' series is the biggest CashCowFranchise of Ubisoft when each entry of the series is known to get average scores from critics. Even the first game was negatively received by critics, but that didn't stop the game from being a commercial success which led to the series' launch.
263* ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' has received very mixed reviews, its story in particular, being a SoOkayItsAverage ClicheStorm. This hasn't stopped it from being amazingly successful.
264* ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' (and by extension, almost any ''Warriors'' game) is hated to death by critics. While not necessarily as popular as some other examples, the series does sell well enough constantly to justify translating another game in the series.
265* ''VideoGame/Frogger1997'' sold over 6 million copies despite middling to negative reviews.
266* ''VideoGame/{{Haydee}}'': Game reviewers and twitter "pundits" were very quick to dismiss the game because of its blatant {{Fanservice}} in the form of [[ThirdPersonSeductress Haydee]], considering it out of place as well as FetishRetardant for various reasons. However, most casual gamers who enjoy the game do so in large part ''[[BestKnownForTheFanservice because]]'' of said fanservice, and Haydee is quite a popular RuleThirtyFour target. If nothing else, it was succesful enough to receive a sequel despite the negative reviews.
267* ''VisualNovel/{{Nekopara}}'' was savaged by critics for its ExcusePlot and [[ItsShortSoItSucks short length]], with the clean version being criticized for being [[SweetnessAversion diabetes incarnate]], but went on to become one of the most successful doujin visual novels of all time, spawning multiple sequels, an OVA, and an anime adaptation, which also sold well despite critical thrashing.
268* The first several entries of the ''VideoGame/{{Neptunia}}'' franchise received terrible reviews. It went on to become its developer's flagship series, with various adaptations and multiple games per year.
269* Reviews for the ''VideoGame/MarioAndSonicAtTheOlympicGames'' titles were generally mixed to average, but the general public still bought them in droves anyway. Most of the derision comes not from the quality of the actual games, but rather from the fact that fans of both franchises would have preferred if the characters crossed over in {{Platform Game}}s instead.
270* ''VideoGame/MinecraftStoryMode'' stands as an unusual game within Creator/TelltaleGames' library, with many hardcore fans and critics not being sure what to make of a narrative-driven take on the famously freeform and story-light ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'', with opinions on the actual game itself being all over the place. In spite of this, it turned out to be the ''only'' game Telltale made after ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonOne'' that made them a profit.
271* ''VideoGame/NintendoSwitchSports'' received nigh overwhelming hatred from ''VideoGame/WiiSports'' fans since its initial reveal, and upon release, received extremely mixed reviews from both gamers and critics alike. But that didn't stop it from being one of the best selling Platform/NintendoSwitch games, and it even was ''the most'' popular game on the Nintendo Eshop for a while.
272* The Platform/Atari2600 port of ''VideoGame/PacMan'' is one of the most iconic examples of a PortingDisaster to both fans and critics, routinely placing on 'worst game ever' lists for its primitive graphics, poor sound quality, and sprite flickering making the game almost unplayable. Despite this, its heavy advertising campaign and the mere fact that it was a ''Pac-Man'' game on the 2600 ensured it became the bestselling game on the system by a wide margin (though it was still a failure due to Atari printing more copies of the game than consoles sold thinking it would boost console sales). It's often seen as a factor in MediaNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983, as such a disastrous game reaching so much of Atari's audience didn't exactly reflect well on the company.
273* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' has increasingly become that, especially since the Switch era, which has come to be considered the AudienceAlienatingEra of the franchise by some, as the technical quality of the main games delivered dropped due to a mix of their very tight schedules and Game Freak's increased ambitions for the franchise. ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'' may be the most glaring example; launched riddled with bugs and glitches, it garnered mixed reviews critically and by the core fans of the franchise, becoming the lowest ranking title of the main games in Metacritic, but still went on to become not only the biggest launch in the franchise's history, but Nintendo's biggest launch ever, as well as the biggest launch for any console-exclusive, raking in twice the amount of copies sold to the critically and publically acclaimed ''VideoGame/GodOfWarRagnarok''.
274* ''[[VideoGame/{{Richman}} Richman 10]]'' is rated negatively by both the critics and most of the fans of the series for being an outright stepback from previous installments with many reasons like a lot of core features being cut for no reason, the graphic being too weird and utilizing a "Release now, finish later" model (even then, the game was finished in one year after re-release with no brand new characters or cards, and a handful of filler maps), but it sold very well, selling one million copies across all platforms by the end of 2021.
275* The ''VideoGame/SenranKagura'' franchise is constantly demonized [[AmericansHateTingle outside of Japan]] for its [[AudienceAlienatingPremise fanservice elements]], but this hasn't hurt the franchise's rising popularity in the slightest, with many fanservice-centric spinoffs. The games themselves being actually very solid hack and slash titles if you get past the aggressive fanservice doesn't hurt, either.
276* The ''VideoGame/SniperGhostWarrior'' series sells very well (by January 2021, [[https://www.gematsu.com/2021/01/sniper-ghost-warrior-franchise-sales-top-11-million the entire series had sold 11 million units]] with every game selling at least over a million) despite consistently mediocre to bad critic and user reviews.
277* ''VideoGame/WiiParty'' received mixed-at-best reviews from critics, but sold 9.3 million copies worldwide and spawned a sequel.
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280[[folder:Webcomics]]
281* ''Webcomic/AssignedMale'' is a favorite punching bag of online critics for its shoddy artwork and AuthorTract issues, as well as a target of some trans people who accuse it of [[DontShootTheMessage horribly botching a moral that they would normally agree with]]. Despite the amount of mockery and criticism it gets online, the comic has been one of Patreon's top 10 earners for several years and shows no signs of slowing down.
282* ''Webcomic/CtrlAltDel''. Despite, or perhaps [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity because of]], the group of detractors that the webcomic and its proprietor accrued, it maintains a solid following.
283* ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'' is infamous nowadays for its [[{{Anvilicious}} preachy]] sex-negative feminist messages and plotlines (later dipping into trans-exclusion and later yet into anti-vax), but it still maintains consistent readership and is still updated daily with no signs of slowing down for the foreseeable future.
284* ''Webcomic/TwoKinds'' has been the target of many a CausticCritic yet it's run strong [[LongRunner for 12 years]] and the creator manages to sell physical books of the comic and an art book for it in [[https://keenspotshop.com/collections/twokinds his store]].
285[[/folder]]
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287[[folder:Western Animation]]
288
289* Early reviews for ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'' ripped it apart, calling it an insult to the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' franchise, but that didn't stop the show from gaining (at least at first) huge ratings and a sizable PeripheryDemographic, including classic ''Looney Tunes'' fans.
290* ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyTest'' got very good ratings (probably because its [[NoBudget low budget]] allowed it to make money even when the bare minimum of viewers were watching it), ran for about ''six seasons'' on TV (being {{Uncancelled}} after its third season), and was AdoredByTheNetwork, yet it gained a gargantuan PeripheryHatedom from the notorious online cartoon community and its infamously polarizing sub-community of reviewers, who widely considered it as one of the worst series ever made (though the series has its defenders). In fact, it's believed [[ScrewedByTheLawyers behind-the-scenes issues]] were what finally killed its initial run rather than the show's infamy. It also became one of the most watched children's shows on Creator/{{Netflix}}, to the point where the service commissioned a revival of the show for two additional seasons.
291* ''WesternAnimation/AlmostNakedAnimals'' was AdoredByTheNetwork to the point where it became the first third-party show featured on Creator/CartoonNetwork's revival of ''WesternAnimation/CartoonPlanet'' in the States, ran for 52 episodes over 3 seasons, got a ton of licensed merchandising (including plushies, water bottles, clothes, umbrellas, books, and Taco Bell kids' meals toys!), and was nominated for a Gemini Award (the Canadian answer to the Emmys). Despite this, it carries a strong PeripheryHatedom with the abovementioned online cartoon community and reviewing sub-community, who consider it one of the worst cartoons ever, and has also received intensely negative reception among users on sites like [=IMDb=] and TV.com, with user ratings averaging out in the 2.0-3.0 range.
292* ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012'' is one of the most polarizing superhero cartoons ever made, and yet it still ran for four successful seasons. The toys in particular ([[MerchandiseDriven the shilling of which]] was one of the most criticized aspects of the show) proved very lucrative for Creator/{{Hasbro}} and Marvel.
293* On the DC side, there's ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'', which zig-zags this trope a bit. The show developed a massive PeripheryHatedom from fans of the original series who feel the DenserAndWackier show is an insult to the original, with the show itself lovingly [[TakeThatCritics taking shots at those detractors]] (though it does have its share of fans and defenders as well). The zig-zagging comes from not only the series spending several years as one of Creator/CartoonNetwork's highest-rated shows, but also from it being nominated for a much-coveted Emmy Award twice. Like ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyTest'', it only has bare amounts of viewers now, but it still [[CashCowFranchise makes a lot of money]] and has been going on for nine years as of this writing—something that its 2003 predecessor never managed. [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGoToTheMovies The theatrical movie]] also received high praise from critics for its mix of lowbrow humor and clever parody.
294* ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'': From its 1960 inception, critics and Golden Age Animation purists hated it because it's, well, Creator/HannaBarbera. And Hanna-Barbera has always had a large segment of detractors. But that didn't stop ''The Flintstones'' from enjoying a six-year primetime run, various spinoffs, and two theatrical movies, and Hanna-Barbera staying in operation for over four decades as the biggest studio in television animation.
295* The Chicago Tribune had a review bashing the ''WesternAnimation/MummiesAlive'' compilation movie ''Mummies Alive! – The Legend Begins'' which didn't deter kids from watching it.
296* ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewSchool'' was bashed by critics and fans for re-using gags from the films and by MoralGuardians for "minimal educational value and frequent displays of socially aggressive behavior", but kids still watched it.
297* The ''Creator/{{Terrytoons}}'' were critically panned during MediaNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation, but the studio still managed to outlast its competition (save for Creator/WalterLantz Productions) [[ArchivePanic and has a cartoon library that put]] ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' [[ArchivePanic to shame]].
298* Despite an intense negative reception, ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriendsAllEnginesGo'' appears to be doing well financially to the point of greenlighting two more seasons. It even was exported internationally with lots of foreign dubs and it has a small following from people that like both this spin-off/reboot and [[WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends its predecessor equally]], which slightly increased when [[EnsembleDarkhorse Brake Car Bruno]] was introduced.
299* ''WesternAnimation/{{Velma}}'' was near-universally panned by viewers and critics alike, with it being one of the lowest rated shows on IMDB, yet it received a high amount of viewers during its premiere and has became one of the most watched shows on HBO Max, possibly ''because'' of [[BileFascination its negative reception]].
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