12 Films That Outrank Avatar 3 on Rotten Tomatoes

Watch out, Neytiri! You’ve got some stiff competition from a certain yellow sponge who resides in a pineapple under the sea and sports some rather square pants. According to Rotten Tomatoes, *Avatar: Fire and Ash* is struggling with critics, trailing behind some unexpected films.

Set to hit theaters on December 19, *Avatar: Fire and Ash* continues the saga of those iconic blue cat aliens on a planet that looks like the most stunning Unreal Engine 5 demo you’ve ever experienced. This time around, however, there are other alien cat beings who aren’t quite as laid-back and nature-loving. These fiery newcomers are all about chaos and destruction, ramping up the tension in this third installment of the blockbuster series. Yet, what’s even more surprising is that *Avatar: Fire and Ash* currently holds a 68 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 187 reviews, a noticeable dip compared to its predecessors. The original *Avatar* from 2009 boasts an 81 percent score, while its 2022 sequel, *Way of Water*, stands at a respectable 76 percent. It makes you wonder if the shorter gap between releases and the tech not feeling as groundbreaking this time around have impacted its reception.

There are several recent films that have managed to score higher on Rotten Tomatoes. While it’s important to remember that RT is just an aggregation site and not the final word, a lower score could complicate things for the third *Avatar* film, potentially affecting its chances of raking in the billions like its predecessors. Still, I expect it to perform exceptionally well over the weekend.

So, it seems the latest *Avatar* entry is facing a critical defeat against the new *SpongeBob* movie. Maybe critics are just vibing with that catchy new tie-in song from Ice Spice, “Big Guy.”

Or perhaps SpongeBob really is the heavyweight champion, and when stacked against Cameron and his blue cat crew, his pants are just fine. At least Cameron can take comfort in knowing that *Avatar 3* is faring better than *Wicked: For Good*. Plus, this new *Avatar* installment is poised to be the biggest film of the year, just like its predecessors in 2009 and 2022.