10 Recent Movies Critics Hated (But Audiences LOVED)

Critic Score: 25%

Audience Score: 86%

The 355 was one of the year's first major theatrical-exclusive releases, a spy thriller blockbuster from Dark Phoenix's Simon Kinberg which, despite its all-star cast, many observers believed was being sent out to die because Universal knew they had a dud on their hands.

And indeed, Kinberg's film was dogpiled by critics who felt it wasted its superb female ensemble on a ho-hum, totally forgettable action thriller marred by Kinberg's flat direction.

And yet, audiences had a great time with it, enough that The 355 landed an 86% audience rating - a 61% gain on its critical score.

As with Uncharted and Red Notice, it confirms that regular viewers are far kinder to ensemble-led globetrotting action thrillers, and are generally likely to give them a pass as long as they deliver something slick that's easy to watch.

Poor marketing didn't stop it tanking at the box office despite a decent "B+" CinemaScore, though considering that many were expecting Universal to sell The 355 off to a streamer given its year-long release delay, it's fair to assume that a lot of casual viewers simply waited to watch it on streaming.