• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs

2

Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998

3

Economists have found an answer to slowing cognitive decline: Avoid retiring early, study finds

1

Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs

2

Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998

3

Economists have found an answer to slowing cognitive decline: Avoid retiring early, study finds
Arts & EntertainmentCaptain Marvel

Trolls Are Tanking Captain Marvel’s Rotten Tomatoes Reviews. But They Can’t Stop Its Box Office Haul

By
Brian Raftery
Brian Raftery
and
Brian Raftery
Brian Raftery
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Brian Raftery
Brian Raftery
and
Brian Raftery
Brian Raftery
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 8, 2019, 7:43 PM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Captain Marvel can take care of the Skrulls. But can Captain Marvel defeat the trolls?

The Brie Larson-fronted Marvel film, which opened Thursday night, has already inspired an out-sized number of negative scores on sites like Rotten Tomatoes and Internet Movie Database (or IMDb). As of Friday afternoon, the Disney-released Marvel movie had more than 10,000 user ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, earning a score of just 34 percent—meaning barely a third of viewers liked it. By comparison, Captain Marvel has a far more favorable 81 percent rating among Rotten Tomatoes’ film critics.

Meanwhile, on IMDb, more than 40,000 votes have already been cast for the film that’s barely been in theaters for 24 hours (by contrast, last weekend’s box office champ How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World has only 25,000 votes). Many of the IMDb voters gave Captain Marvel the lowest score possible, sinking its overall rating to 6.6.

This flood of overwhelmingly negative scores is likely the result of what’s sometimes referred to as “vote-brigading,” a deliberate web-wide attempt to lower (or, in some cases, raise) a film’s rating. Its become far more prevalent in recent years, as the power and reach of sites like Rotten Tomatoes have increased, and as the fanbases for such properties as Star Wars and the Marvel and DC films have grown more passionate.

It’s no surprise that trolls have seized upon Captain Marvel. In certain corners of the internet, the movie has been a point of contention for weeks. In February, Larson noted to Marie Claire that most of the writers and critics covering her films are white males, and described her efforts to ensure “[her] press days were more inclusive.” Not long afterward, Rotten Tomatoes was spammed with negative comments about Captain Marvel, ostensibly submitted by offended users—none of whom had actually seen the movie. In response, the site ended its practice of allowing pre-emptive scores, citing their “non-constructive output.”

But on Friday morning, more than 50,000 user reviews for Captain Marvel flooded the site—an impossible figure for a just-released film. Rotten Tomatoes blamed a glitch and the number of reviews decreased, though the film’s low user score remained mostly unchanged.

Similar efforts had been directed at such films as Star Wars: The Last Jedi and last year’s Black Panther, with some groups even claiming credit for the ratings plunge.

Those films nonetheless wound up becoming box office hits—a trajectory Captain Marvel seems to be sharing. The movie made more than $20 million on Thursday, and is now flying toward a weekend opening of about $150 million. And in the end, those may be the only numbers that matter.

About the Authors
By Brian Raftery
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Brian Raftery
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

s
Personal FinanceSports
The sports economy is unaffordable at the bar, let alone the stadium
By Catherina GioinoJuly 2, 2026
21 hours ago
t
Arts & EntertainmentNew York
No holiday for New York City cops, who get a heat wave, World Cup and a Taylor Swift wedding at MSG
By Anthony Izaguirre and The Associated PressJuly 2, 2026
21 hours ago
ts
Arts & EntertainmentTaylor Swift
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding at Madison Square Garden will run from 5pm on Friday until maybe 4am on July 4th, permit says
By Jake Offenhartz and The Associated PressJuly 2, 2026
22 hours ago
ts
Arts & EntertainmentNew York
Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce donate $26 million to charities ahead of rumored Madison Square Garden wedding
By Kimberlee Kruesi and The Associated PressJuly 2, 2026
22 hours ago
ts
Arts & EntertainmentNew York
NYPD confirms ‘an event that we are tracking at Madison Square Garden on Friday night,’ declines to comment on Taylor Swift wedding
By Jake Offenhartz, Kimberlee Kruesi and The Associated PressJuly 2, 2026
22 hours ago
usa
North AmericaWorld Cup
The World Cup is a smash but America still isn’t a soccer country, poll suggests
By Linley Sanders and The Associated PressJuly 2, 2026
22 hours ago

Most Popular

Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs
Law
Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs
By Wyatte Grantham-Philips and The Associated PressJuly 2, 2026
21 hours ago
Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998
AI
Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 3, 2026
9 hours ago
Economists have found an answer to slowing cognitive decline: Avoid retiring early, study finds
Economy
Economists have found an answer to slowing cognitive decline: Avoid retiring early, study finds
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 2, 2026
23 hours ago
Mark Zuckerberg feeds his cows macadamia nuts and beer to create the 'highest-quality beef in the world' on his $300 million estate in Hawaii
Success
Mark Zuckerberg feeds his cows macadamia nuts and beer to create the 'highest-quality beef in the world' on his $300 million estate in Hawaii
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 2, 2026
23 hours ago
As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch
Big Tech
As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 1, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of July 2, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of July 2, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 2, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.