10 Movies With A 100% Rating On Rotten Tomatoes For BOTH Audiences & Critics

Few things are more elusive than the t universal approval of both audiences and critics, but a handful of films have the Citizen Kane lost its 100% Rotten Tomatoes score after an 80-year-old negative review of the classic film was discovered. Even more illusory is the Rotten Tomatoes audience score, wherein the sheer volume of reviews makes a 100% score nearly impossible for a mainstream film.

There are a handful of major productions that come close to ing the double-100 club; Twelve Angry Men is among the closest, with a 100% critics score and 97% audience score (via Rotten Tomatoes), but no film with so many ratings stands a chance of pleasing everyone. The only movies that reach 100% on both scores are the relatively obscure ones that have not had the massive visibility which guarantees a negative review. These films are generally modest independent productions, TV movies, or specialized documentaries that did not capture mainstream attention. Ten such films boast these matching scores (at the time of writing) and are keenly deserving of broader recognition.

10 Backwards Faces (2022)

In this low-budget, high-concept sci-fi comedy, a self-loathing physicist discovers her one-night stand has a wormhole to parallel dimensions in his bathroom. Backwards Faces makes smart use of the limited resources allowed by its indie budget, locating the majority of the drama within heady sci-fi concepts rather than costly special effects. Rotten Tomatoes critics praise the originality of the concept and strong central performances, while audience reviews mention the film’s comedy chops as a particular bright spot. The film is also a tight 68 minutes; a welcome reprieve in an era where many mainstream films are nearing three-hour runtimes.

9 Two Trains Runnin’ (2016)

The historical music documentary Two Trains Runnin’ tells the unlikely story of two separate groups of college students and music aficionados who both ventured to the same region of Mississippi in 1964 in the hopes of coaxing two delta blues icons out of retirement. It’s an entertaining, thoughtful documentary that brings weight to its airy premise with commentary on the 1964 Black voter registration effort. The film is deserving of its dual 100% Rotten Tomatoes scores; it proves enlightening and entertaining, aided by a slick production that includes animation, interviews with music legends, narration by Common, and, of course, plenty of fantastic blues music.

8 The Woman Who Loves Giraffes (2018)

This character-driven documentary tells the story of 86-year-old Giraffe expert Dr. Anne Innis Dagg, the “Jane Goodall of Giraffes”. The film follows Dagg as she retraces the steps of her historic 1956 journey to South Africa to study giraffes in the wild. The Woman Who Loves Giraffes earns its perfect Rotten Tomatoes scores from audiences and critics by focusing on two aspects of Dagg’s story: Her dedicated lifetime of study of the majestic animals, as well as the systemic misogyny within academia that wrongly prevented her considerable contributions to the field from being recognized. The subject matter proves fascinating, examining both natural wonder and complex humanity.

7 In Our Mothers’ Gardens (2020)

Another 100% Rotten Tomatoes score title for audiences and critics, In Our Mothers' Gardens is a sensitive, intimate documentary that meditates on the relationships between Black women and their mothers. The film is composed of a series of pensive interviews with an eclectic group of accomplished Black women. The documentary is well-served by its director, Shantrelle P. Lewis, who encourages her interviewees to dig deeper, mining for the textured details and significant moments lurking within stories of mothers and grandmothers. Ava DuVernay’s company produces the film, which audiences and critics alike praise as an introspective achievement.

6 Momentum Generation (2018)

This HBO Sports documentary chronicles the rise of a tight-knit group of professional surfers who would become icons of the sport in the 1990s. Momentum Generation distinguishes itself from the usual sports documentary fare by offering more than just satisfying shots of surfers dominating waves, although there is plenty of that. At its heart, the film is a moving story of a group of young men from difficult backgrounds who find a family in one another and grow into themselves on the shores of Oahu, Hawaii. Rotten Tomatoes audience and critic reviews laud the film’s insight into surf culture, which proves equally rewarding for aficionados and the uninitiated.

5 Anthony (2020)

Holding a 100% Ted Lasso cast member Toheeb Jimoh in the title role and sees its story play out in reverse chronology, a device which, in director Terry McDonough’s hands, proves to be far more than a gimmick. Rotten Tomatoes reviews are quick to mention the film’s mesmerizing central performance and a tone that ably balances the tragedy of the real with the joy that could have been.

4 Filmmakers For The Prosecution (2022)

The gripping movie Filmmakers for The Prosecution recounts the efforts of two brother filmmakers tasked with gathering never-before-seen film evidence of Nazi war crimes for the 1945 Nuremberg Trials. The documentary uses archival footage, interviews, and recorded s to tell the riveting story of the Schulberg brothers’ attempts to obtain the footage before it could be destroyed by Nazi sympathizers. It’s an enthralling story that unites audiences and critics on Rotten Tomatoes, rich with historical significance and timely relevance.

3 Rebels On Pointe (2017)

Rebels On Pointe is a sensitive, dynamic documentary that explores the journey of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, an intergenerational ballet company of gay men who have earned a reputation as one of the most prolific and respected drag companies in the world. The documentary’s unguarded access to the development of the shows and the lives of the ballerinas makes for a moving, thrilling experience that earned 100% Rotten Tomatoes scores from both critics and audiences. The movie touches on the group’s formation in the wake of the Stonewall riots, the tragic dwindling of its number during the AIDS crisis, and the more hopeful modern day, where numerous married couples exist within its ranks.

2 The Departure (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes critics and audiences praise the meditative, poetic nature of The Departure, a documentary that succeeds both as a philosophical study of death and a deeply personal character study. The film focuses on Ittetsu Nemoto, a Japanese Buddhist monk and former punk rocker who counsels people experiencing suicidal ideations. Ittetsu leads tangible group exercises meant to give people a better understanding of the experience of death, but the film soon reveals a dark portrait of Nemoto’s own inner struggles that take their toll on his relationships and his physical being. It’s a sensitive, deeply intimate film that offers interesting commentary on the relationships between the living and the great unknown.