Now that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is in theaters, and thus providing the closing chapter for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 4, it’s worth wondering: Just how many Phase 4 films are “Certified Fresh” on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes? And is Wakanda Forever one of them?
When it comes to Rotten Tomatoes, a percent score is issued that represents how many critics rated a movie positively on a binary “fresh” v “rotten” grade. Therefore, a movie with a 60 percent doesn’t mean every critic gave the movie a 6/10, but that 60 percent of reviews were positive and 40 percent were negative.
A Certified Fresh rating is a kind of stamp of approval that the website gives, which they call a “special distinction awarded to the best-reviewed movies and TV shows” and have certain minimum qualifications, according to RT’s website. One of those qualifications is that a movie must have a 75 percent Tomatometer score or higher. However, it’s not guaranteed all movies above 75 percent are Certified Fresh. Likewise, a movie could have a Tomatometer score in the 90s but not be Certified Fresh.
As far as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever goes, it’s actually one of four full-length theatrical films in Marvel’s Phase 4 to be given a Certified Fresh status. The other Certified Fresh films in Phase 4 include Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Below is the entire breakdown for each film’s Tomatometer score:
- Black Widow – 79 percent
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – 91 percent
- Spider-Man: No Way Home – 93 percent
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – 84 percent.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now playing at a theater near you.