RT Podcast

"Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong" About... Twilight

Hold on tight, spider monkeys! We're going back to 2008 to ask that ultimate Twilight question: Team Critics or Team Fans?

by | August 12, 2021 | Comments

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(Photo by Summit Entertainment)

Thought the biggest question around Twilight was “Team Edward or Team Jacob?” Think again. The real dividing line when it comes to Catherine Hardwicke’s blockbuster adaptation of Stephenie Meyers’ best-selling books is between the critics and the fans.


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Going back all the way to the original Twilight movie – those shimmery early days when we first met Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) – audiences and critics were at odds. Professional reviewers largely lashed the movie as a so-so supernatural teen romance that sucked more than soared, landing it with a Rotten Tomatometer score of 49%; fans swooned hard, driving the Audience Score to a Fresh 73%.

Certainly teenage girls with disposable incomes sided with the latter – the movie made an epic $193 million at the box office and kicked off a billion dollar franchise.

Who got it right? And who got it wrong? And WTF is with the baseball?

Those are the deep – and we mean deep, Bella, like “bare your soul and accept you for what you are” deep – questions we’re asking in the latest episode of our podcast, Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong. And to handle the assignment, hosts Jacqueline Coley and Mark Ellis are joined by special guest Steph Sabraw, host, producer, and one third of YouTube’s Whirl Girls. Together, they will dig into the pop-culture phenom that was Twilight, the chemistry between K-Stew and R-Patz, all that beautiful real estate, and why Hardwicke’s movie might have a bit more bite than it was given credit for.



Check in every Thursday for a new episode of Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong (A Podcast From Rotten Tomatoes). Each week, hosts Jacqueline and Mark and guests go deep and settle the score on some of the most beloved – and despised – movies and TV shows ever made, directly taking on the statement we hear from so many fans: “Rotten Tomatoes is wrong.”


Check out some more episodes of Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong:


If you have a suggestion for a movie or show you think we should do an episode on, let us know in the comments, or email us at rtiswrong@rottentomatoes.com.


Meet the hosts

Jacqueline Coley is an editor at Rotten Tomatoes, with a focus on awards and indie coverage but with a passion for everything, from the MCU to musicals and period pieces. Coley is a regular moderator at conventions and other events, can be seen on Access Hollywood and other shows, and will not stand Constantine slander of any kind. Follow Jacqueline on Twitter: @THATjacqueline.

Mark Ellis is a comedian and contributing editor for Rotten Tomatoes. He currently hosts the Rotten Tomatoes series Versus, among others, and can be seen co-hosting the sports entertainment phenomenon Movie Trivia Schmoedown. His favorite Star Wars movie is Jedi (guess which one!), his favorite person is actually a dog (his beloved stepdaughter Mollie), and – thanks to this podcast – he’s about to watch Burlesque for the first time in his life. Follow Mark on Twitter: @markellislive.


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