Big Opening? Maybe Not

David Card | December 02, 2005, 09:20 AM

I continue to love Rotten Tomatoes, a site that, among other movie content, aggregates reviews. This weekend's only big opening is MTV Productions/Paramount's "Aeon Flux", which the studios chose not to screen for reviewers. RT's commentary, which usually tallies the percentage of positive reviews in its Tomatometer, includes the following historical Tomatometer scores:

Recent Films Not Screened For Critics:
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5% -- In the Mix (2005)
8% -- The Fog (2005)
24% -- Cry_Wolf (2005)
0% -- King's Ransom (2005)
14% -- Cursed (2005)

"Aeon" has been mercilessly promoted in theatrical trailers and, recently, on TV. It's got ads all over Rotten Tomatoes, of course. Twenty-one percent of heavy moviegoers tabbed crummy movies as a reason they cut back this year, although that was a lower percentage than blamed the cost of going out (30%).