How 2021 Changed the MCU's Average Rotten Tomatoes Score

The Marvel Cinematic Universe ’s 2021 movie liberation had some wildly unlike Rotten Tomatoes scores , all having a dissimilar impact on the franchise ’s average performance . Black Widow , Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings , Eternals , andSpider - Man : No Way Homewere all different for the MCU because they were released during a pandemic that impacted theater attendance and box spot drastically , but reappraisal are another chronicle .

WhileBlack Widowwas originally slated to release in 2020 , the pandemic forced the release appointment to alter , making 2021 the first twelvemonth in which there were four MCU movies let go of in theaters ( five if you tangentially countVenom : Let There Be Carnage ) . That was n’t the franchise ’s only big " first . " Prior to 2021 , theMCU had a arrant data track record in Rotten Tomatoes , earning a refreshing grade on every single one of its 23 movies to that head , but 2021 go steady the first " Rotten " grievance withEternals .

Related : The Most Overrated Movies in the MCU ( According to Rotten Tomatoes )

Josh Hartnett looking shocked in Fight or Flight

The MCU has had enough movies give up with consistently warm Rotten Tomatoes scores , so no individual movie can rock the franchise ’s average Rotten Tomatoes gobs by much , but there were still a issue of shifts throughout 2021 , discover some averages go up and others go down .

Black Widow’s Impact on the MCU’s Rotten Tomatoes Scores

As the first film of the MCU ’s phase 4,Black Widowis also the first MCU prequel that is n’t go under outside the main enfranchisement timeline . It was also the first MCU film to let go of during the COVID-19 pandemic , and thefirst MCU film to get released on pelt the same dayit was exhaust in theaters . Despite standing out in all those ways , its limited review scores in Rotten Tomatoes are n’t very illustrious .

Black Widowwas reviewed mostly positively , but its Rotten Tomatoes scads came in under the MCU ’s pre-2021 average across the board . Black Widow ’s 79 percent Tomatometer grudge is six points below the MCU ’s 85 percent medium , the 71 per centum Top Critic Score is seven points lower than the MCU ’s 78 percent intermediate , and the 81 percent consultation score is one level below the MCU ’s 82 percent modal audience mark . Black Widowbrought the MCU ’s average Tomatometer score down one full point to 84 percent and the Top Critic score down one point to 77 percent , but the consultation score was unimpacted .

Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' Impact on the MCU’s Rotten Tomatoes Scores

Shang - Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsis thefirst MCU Phase 4 with event set after the events ofAvengers : Endgame(Spider - Man : Far From Homeis technically the last movie in Phase 3 ) . It also innovate Shang Chi , make it the MCU ’s first Asian - led picture .

UnlikeBlack Widow , Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsperformed above the MCU ’s pre - Black Widowaverage in every way . Its 91 percent Tomatometer score is six point higher than the MCU ’s 84 per centum median , its 91 percent Top Critic mark is 13 points high than the MCU ’s 78 percent average , and its 93 percent audience sexual conquest is 12 points higher than the MCU ’s 81 per centum modal audience mark . AfterShang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings , the MCU ’s average Tomatometer returned to thepre - BlackWidow level of 85 percent , but the other scores were unimpacted .

Eternals' Impact on the MCU’s Rotten Tomatoes Scores

Rotten Tomatoes was one of the crowing talking points surroundingEternalsbecause it has the purity ofthe MCU ’s first " Rotten " Tomatometer score . BeforeEternals , the low grade in the MCU would have still been consider smart , but sinceEternalsscored 47 percent , that ’s no longer lawful . The Top Critic score was even worse at 37 percent ; however , the audience score is 78 percent , which is only the secondly - low in the MCU afterCaptain Marvel ’s 45 percentage interview sexual conquest ( although there were claim of review bombing forCaptain Marvel , but it ’s not clear where the score would have been otherwise ) .

Eternalschanged the MCU ’s average Rotten Tomatoes piles more than any other 2021 MCU movie , but with so many well - reviewed motion picture in the franchise , the impact was n’t much more noticeable than the other movies last yr . The 85 percent average Tomatometer score dropped two distributor point to 83 percent and the 78 percent medium Top Critic Score dropped just one tip to 77 percent , but the audience mark stayed at 83 percent .

Spider-Man: No Way Home’s Impact on the MCU’s Rotten Tomatoes Scores

TheMCU Spider - Man movies have all been well - reviewedand performed well a the box office , butSpider - Man : No agency Hometook thing to another level . Spider - Man : No style Homeearned some of the MCU ’s in high spirits Rotten Tomatoes scores and is making a killing at the box office , pull in the MCU ’s secondly - highest opening weekend box office haulage behindAvengers : Endgame .

Spider - Man : No Way Home ’s 94 percent Tomatometer grade is the sixth highest in the MCU and 11 breaker point higher than the MCU ’s 83 percent postEternalsaverage . The 88 percent Top Critic score is only 10th in the MCU , but it ’s one point high-pitched than the MCU ’s 77 percent average . in conclusion , Spider - Man : No Way Home ’s 98 percentage consultation account is the highest in the MCU , bewilder the pre - No Way Homeaverage of 82 percent by 17 points . Thanks toSpider - Man : No Way Home , the MCU ’s middling Tomatometer sexual conquest went back up one power point to 84 percent . The MCU ’s average Top Critic mark was unimpacted , but the average audience account increased one point to 83 percent .

The MCU ’s 2021 movies had some of the franchise ’s highest high in Rotten Tomatoes , but it was n’t quite enough to overcomeEternalslow scores . Altogether , Marvel Studios ' 2021 spill averaged 78 percentage and take the franchise ’s pre-2021 modal Tomatometer score down one point from 85 per centum to 84 per centum . 2021 ’s 72 percent average Top Critic score bring the MCU ’s average down one level to 77 percentage . Thankfully , thefranchise - high audience score fromSpider - mankind : No fashion Homemanaged to overcome the below - medium audience scores ofBlack WidowandEternals(especially the latter ) with a 2021 norm of 88 percent , bringing the MCU ’s average Rotten Tomatoes interview seduce up one peak from 82 percentage to 83 percent . The total shift in the numbers may not be very extreme , but it ’s a testament to the persuasiveness of the MCU ’s review mark in Rotten Tomatoes that even a grade as modest asEternalsdoesn’t shift the sum by very much .