Summary
- Unsung Hero is the surprise top-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes for 2024, with a 99% audience score on the new Popcornmeter feature.
- Despite lukewarm critic reviews, audiences love the heartwarming and faith-based story that is inspiring and uplifting.
- The largely Christian audience appreciates the inspirational message, wholesome content, and origin story of successful music acts.
On Rotten Tomatoes, there’s a list of “Verified Hot” movies, and it’s likely audiences will never guess what 2024’s highest-rated Verified Hot movie is: Unsung Hero. Unsung Hero is a faith-based movie similar to Hillary Swank’s Ordinary Angels. Also based on a true story, it follows musician David Smallbone, who moves his large family from Australia to the United States after his music business fails. His pregnant wife Helen’s faith keeps the family together and upbeat during the tumultuous time, and proves a guiding force for the family. Eventually, their faith and hard work pay off and the Smallbone’s children go on to become the Grammy Award-winning acts KING + COUNTRY and Rebecca St. James.
Shockingly, this is the movie that is the highest-rated Verified Hot movie on Rotten Tomatoes among audiences – not Deadpool & Wolverine, not Inside Out 4, and not any other big-budget movie one might guess, but Unsung Hero. Unsung Hero has a 61% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, which is still fresh but not all that impressive. Critics praised it for being heartwarming and uplifting, but ultimately “tepid” in the drama department and not offering much in the way of fresh storytelling. Critics’ lukewarm reception of Unsung Hero doesn’t seem to matter much, though, as audiences absolutely love it.
Unsung Hero Is 2024’s Highest Rated Verified Hot Movie On Rotten Tomatoes
It’s Rated On RT’s New Popcornmeter Feature
Currently, Unsung Hero has a 99% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is impressive by any metric. However, it’s not just a regular audience rating, but a 99% rating on the Popcornmeter. That matters, as the Popcornmeter is a brand-new feature on Rotten Tomatoes generated by verified movie ticket buyers only. By ensuring everyone who reviews a movie via the Popcornmeter has actually bought a ticket, Rotten Tomatoes cuts down on spam reviews and bots, as well as people reviewing movies they haven’t actually seen. That 99% was honestly earned, meaning almost everyone who saw the movie gave it a positive rating. Considering it has well over 1,000 reviews, that’s incredible.
Likewise, the average audience score is an almost shocking 4.9 out of 5, which is arguably even more impressive. In truth, Rotten Tomatoes’ binary system does not leave a lot of room for nuance. If someone liked a movie only a little more than they disliked it, technically, that’s a fresh rating even if their feelings about it were mostly mixed. The average audience score is much more nuanced, as instead of a binary fresh/rotten choice, it’s a sliding scale of five stars. That allows for a much more accurate picture of how audiences received a movie.
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Unsung Hero Scores |
Score |
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Critics Score |
61% |
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Critics Average |
5.4/10 |
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Audience Score |
99% |
|
Audience Average |
4.5/5 |
Why Audiences Love Unsung Hero So Much On Rotten Tomatoes
The Faith-Based Aspects Will Always Win Over A Christian Audience Looking For A Heartwarming Story
It has to be stated that the largely Christian audience who saw Unsung Hero is already primed to love any faith-based movie regardless of its level, so it’s worth keeping that in mind when reading any gushing audience review. That’s reflected in those reviews, which overwhelmingly embrace an “all things are possible through God” running theme. That said, considering that’s the exact audience Unsung Hero is aiming for, it doesn’t really matter – clearly, it’s bringing out the audience it intended to and eliciting the response it wants.
Outside of the faith aspects of the movie, audiences really love it for its inspirational message and heartwarming arc. In particular, audiences have appreciated learning an origin story they may not have known before that provides backstory to two huge country acts. That sentiment has carried through to audiences who aren’t even necessarily KING + COUNTRY or Rebecca St. James fans. Lastly, audiences who have seen Unsung Hero really appreciate that it’s a wholesome film that the entire family can enjoy, something plenty of parents look for when deciding which movie to see.