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R-Rated Films Critics Adored and Audiences Hated

R-Rated Films Critics Adored and Audiences Hated

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Courtesy of Roadside Attractions

40. Unhook the Stars (1996)

Courtesy of Miramax

39. Cop (1988)

Courtesy of MGM Home Entertainment

38. Big Bad Mama (1974)

Courtesy of New World Pictures

37. Greenberg (2010)

Courtesy of Focus Features

36. Come Early Morning (2006)

Courtesy of Bold Films

35. Drinking Buddies (2013)

Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

34. Teeth (2007)

Courtesy of Roadside Attractions

33. Goat (2016)

Courtesy of The Film Arcade

32. The Informant! (2009)

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

31. The Family Fang (2015)

Courtesy of Starz Digital Media

30. Mom and Dad (2017)

Courtesy of Momentum Pictures

29. Strange Behavior (1981)

Courtesy of World Northal

28. Entertainment (2015)

Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

27. Eyewitness (1981)

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

26. The Innkeepers (2011)

Courtesy of Magnet Releasing

25. Nurse Betty (2000)

Courtesy of USA Films

24. Absentia (2011)

Mike Windle / Getty Images

23. Splice (2009)

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

22. Tales of Halloween (2015)

Courtesy of GoDigital

21. The Lovers (2017)

Donna Ward / Getty Images

20. The Object of Beauty (1991)

Darren McCollester / Getty Images

19. Happy Christmas (2014)

Jason Merritt/TERM / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

18. Blue Steel (1990)

Courtesy of MGM/UA Distribution Company

17. Haywire (2011)

Courtesy of Relativity Media

16. High Life (2018)

Courtesy of A24

15. The Mighty Quinn (1989)

Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

14. The Burrowers (2008)

Courtesy of Lionsgate Home Entertainment

13. It Comes at Night (2017)

Courtesy of A24

12. I Care a Lot (2020)

Courtesy of Netflix

11. The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014)

Courtesy of Alchemy

10. Goodbye, Columbus (1969)

Michael Ochs Archives / Moviepix via Getty Images

9. Night Moves (2013)

Courtesy of Cinedigm Entertainment Group

8. Gloria Bell (2018)

Courtesy of A24

7. Shadow in the Cloud (2020)

Courtesy of Redbox Entertainment

6. Greetings (1968)

Courtesy of Sigma III Corp.

5. Results (2015)

Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

4. Breaking In (1989)

Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Company

3. Enemies Closer (2013)

Courtesy of The Film Arcade

2. Semi-Tough (1977)

Courtesy of United Artists

1. The Souvenir (2019)

Courtesy of A24

40. Unhook the Stars (1996)
39. Cop (1988)
38. Big Bad Mama (1974)
37. Greenberg (2010)
36. Come Early Morning (2006)
35. Drinking Buddies (2013)
34. Teeth (2007)
33. Goat (2016)
32. The Informant! (2009)
31. The Family Fang (2015)
30. Mom and Dad (2017)
29. Strange Behavior (1981)
28. Entertainment (2015)
27. Eyewitness (1981)
26. The Innkeepers (2011)
25. Nurse Betty (2000)
24. Absentia (2011)
23. Splice (2009)
22. Tales of Halloween (2015)
21. The Lovers (2017)
20. The Object of Beauty (1991)
19. Happy Christmas (2014)
18. Blue Steel (1990)
17. Haywire (2011)
16. High Life (2018)
15. The Mighty Quinn (1989)
14. The Burrowers (2008)
13. It Comes at Night (2017)
12. I Care a Lot (2020)
11. The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014)
10. Goodbye, Columbus (1969)
9. Night Moves (2013)
8. Gloria Bell (2018)
7. Shadow in the Cloud (2020)
6. Greetings (1968)
5. Results (2015)
4. Breaking In (1989)
3. Enemies Closer (2013)
2. Semi-Tough (1977)
1. The Souvenir (2019)

Every film genre, whether animation, action, mystery, thriller, or more, is subject to criticism. What one person adores, another many find run-of-the-mill, or even awful, lacking plot, storyline, and character development. The R-rated film genre is no different. These films tend to give producers and directors a bit more leeway, although they don't always perform as well at the box office.

When it comes to evaluating how good a film is, critics and viewers can be notoriously harsh. They also rarely agree on what is good and what isn't, typically having opposite opinions. Although film critics are renowned for judging films more severely than general audiences do, occasionally, a film is lauded by professionals but falls flat with viewers. (Here are 20 R-rated movies with a perfect critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes.)

24/7 Tempo reviewed data on audience and critical reception, according to Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator to assemble a list of R-rated movies critics adored and audiences hated. These movies were ranked based on the difference between their Rotten Tomatoes audience score and Tomatometer (critics) score.

Only movies with at least 500 audience reviews, a Tomatometer score of 75% or higher, and an audience score of less than 50% as of April 2023 were considered. Documentaries were not considered. Cast and director credits are from IMDb, an online movie and TV database owned by Amazon. (These are the best R-rated movies of all time.)

Here are R-rated films critics adored and audiences hated:

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