Rotten Tomatoes to diversify critics pool

Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes is attempting to diversify its film critic pool after a recent study found the site’s reviews of top-grossing movies were heavily male-dominated.

The company says on Tuesday it’s expanding criteria to be a “Tomatometer-approved critic” and giving $100,000 (Dh367,255) to non-profit organisations to help offset the cost of attending film festivals.

The first $25,000 is going toward sending critics to the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

An Annenberg Inclusion Initiative survey of Rotten Tomatoes-complied reviews for last year’s top box office hits found that nearly 80 per cent of critics were male.

Rotten Tomatoes executives say the company is committed to advancing inclusion in criticism. The company will now look at an individual’s body of work, including on new media platforms, instead of a critic’s outlet or employer.