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Read article →Metacritic vs IMDb vs Our Score
Three sites, three numbers, three completely different methods. Here’s what a Metascore, an IMDb rating and our own score each actually tell you — and when to trust which.
A film can be an 88 on one site, a 6.2 on another, and “fine” according to your friend who never lies to you. None of them are wrong. They’re measuring different things with different crowds and different maths. Once you know how each score is built, the disagreements stop being confusing and start being useful.
Metacritic: Weighted Critics
The Metascore is a weighted average of professional critic reviews, translated onto a 0–100 scale. “Weighted” is the key word: Metacritic assigns more influence to publications it considers more authoritative, so it isn’t a simple average. It captures the critical consensus — useful for gauging craft, less useful for guessing whether you personally will have fun.
IMDb: The Crowd, Weighted
An IMDb rating is a weighted average of user votes on a 1–10 scale. It reflects the paying, watching public rather than critics, which is why crowd-pleasers and genre films often score higher here than on Metacritic. IMDb also applies its own weighting to blunt vote-stuffing, so the number you see isn’t the raw arithmetic mean.
Our Score: Methodology, Not Mood
Our own score isn’t a poll or a critic aggregate — it’s the output of a fixed checklist applied the same way every time: writing, performances, direction, rewatchability and, where relevant, the streaming experience itself. The point isn’t to be more “correct” than the crowd or the critics; it’s to be consistent, so a 7 from us means the same thing across every title.
When the gap is the story
A big split between critics and audiences is a signal, not noise. High critic score, low audience score often means “admirable but hard work.” The reverse often means “great fun the critics under-rated” — or a review-bombing campaign. The gap tells you what kind of film you’re dealing with.
Why They Disagree
| Pattern | Likely Meaning |
|---|---|
| High critics, low audience | Artistically ambitious, slow, or divisive; demanding viewing |
| Low critics, high audience | Crowd-pleaser, genre comfort food, or a passionate fanbase |
| High everywhere | Rare consensus — usually a safe bet |
| Low everywhere | Genuinely troubled; approach with caution |
How to Read All Three
Use them as a panel, not a verdict. Check Metacritic for craft, IMDb for how real audiences received it, and a methodology-based score like ours for a consistent baseline. Then weight them to your taste: if you love divisive art films, chase the critic-audience gap; if you want a guaranteed good night, look for agreement across all three.
Ratings FAQ
Is a higher Metascore always better than a higher IMDb score?
No — they measure different crowds. A high Metascore means critics approved; a high IMDb score means the audience did. Neither guarantees you’ll enjoy it.
Why is the IMDb number not just the average of votes?
IMDb applies its own weighting to reduce the impact of coordinated or suspicious voting, so the displayed rating differs slightly from the raw mean.
What’s the difference between Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes?
Rotten Tomatoes measures the percentage of positive reviews (how many critics liked it); Metacritic measures how much they liked it, as a weighted score. They answer different questions.
Should I trust one score over the others?
Read them together. Agreement across all three is a strong signal; a big split tells you what kind of film it is and who it’s for.