Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

10 films that are now better than Citizen Kane – according to Rotten Tomatoes

Paddington 2 is just one of the flicks that has surpassed the Orson Welles classic

Annabel Nugent
Wednesday 28 April 2021 06:41 EDT
Comments
Paddington 2 - Trailer

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Thanks to an 80-year-old review, Citizen Kane is now a worse movie than Paddington 2 – according to Rotten Tomatoes.

The 1941 film recently slipped from its 100 per cent rating after a negative review – titled “Citizen Kane Fails to Impress Critic as Greatest Ever Filmed” – from eight decades ago was added to the review aggregator website.

Orson Welles’s classic now has a 99 per cent score – meaning that Paddington 2, with 100 per cent, has surpassed Citizen Kane as the “better” movie. 

The live-action sequel quickly became a fan-favourite when it was released in 2017. The children’s film, starring Hugh Grant and Sally Hawkins, also received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics.

In addition to Paddington 2, here are 10 other films that now rank higher than Citizen Kane on Rotten Tomatoes.

  1. The Terminator (1984)
  2. Toy Story (1995)
  3. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
  4. Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)
  5. Pinnochio (1940)
  6. Modern Times (1936)
  7. Man on Wire (2008)
  8. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
  9. Frankenstein (1931)
  10. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

Check out the full list of films with a 100 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes here.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in