Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi’s ‘Reservation Dogs’ is officially Certified Fresh at 100% on the Tomatometer, with 22 reviews, including an average audience score of 79% (accompanied with a full popcorn bucket!).
Basically, this is a pretty big deal in the film and TV industry.
According to the website, Rotten Tomatoes and the Tomatometer score are the world’s most trusted recommendation resources for quality entertainment. As the leading online aggregator of movie and TV show reviews from critics, Rotten Tomatoes provides fans a comprehensive guide to what’s “Fresh” and “Rotten” either in theaters or at home on the TV screen.
So, what is the Tomatometer do? The Tomatometer score – based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics – is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans. The Tomatometer score represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show. A Tomatometer score is calculated for a movie or TV show after it receives at least five reviews.

When at least 60% of reviews for a movie or TV show are positive, a red tomato is displayed to indicate its Fresh status. In contrast, when less than 60% of reviews for a movie or TV show are positive, a green splat is displayed to indicate its Rotten status.
Also, what’s Certified Fresh? Certified Fresh status is a special distinction awarded to the best-reviewed movies and TV shows. In order to qualify, movies or TV shows must meet the following requirements:
- A consistent Tomatometer score of 75% or higher.
- At least five reviews from Top Critics.
- Films in wide release must have a minimum of 80 reviews. This also applies for films going from limited to wide release.
- Films in limited release must have a minimum of 40 reviews.
- Only individual seasons of a TV show are eligible, and each must have a minimum of 20 reviews.
The above requirements for Certified Fresh status are only the bare minimum a film must achieve to qualify for the distinction. A film does not automatically become Certified Fresh when it meets those requirements. The Tomatometer score must be consistent and unlikely to deviate significantly before a film or TV show is marked Certified Fresh.
Lastly, a combination of curators, critics, and audience members determines the scores of movies and shows on Rotten Tomatoes. As stated on the website, Rotten Tomatoes has assembled a team of curators whose job it is to read thousands of movie and TV reviews weekly. The team collects movie and TV reviews from Tomatometer-approved critics and publications every day, generating Tomatometer scores. Their curators carefully read these reviews, noting if the reviews are Fresh or Rotten, and choose a representative pull-quote. Tomatometer-approved critics can also self-submit their reviews.
The Audience Score, denoted by a popcorn bucket, represents the percentage of users who have rated a movie or TV show positively. With films for which we can verify users have bought a ticket, the default Audience Score we show is made up of “Verified Ratings,” which represents the percentage of users who have rated a movie or TV show positively who we can verify bought a ticket; it is displayed once enough of those Verified Ratings are in to form a score. In order to earn a full popcorn bucket, at least 60% of users give a movie or TV show a star rating of 3.5 or higher, a full popcorn bucket is displayed to indicate its Fresh status.
Rotten Tomatoes is a trusted website in providing the most honest and truthful reviews on new releases. Many people use Rotten Tomatoes to determine whether to see a new movie or show or not. Rotten Tomatoes scores can make or break a movie, and are even used in advertising campaigns for films.