I don’t know how many more times I have to mention this, but despite the hate from critics, “Green Book” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” are at the top of audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb (among the Best Picture nominees).
This past year, more than others, has had audiences and critics severely disagreeing on what constituted the best movies of the year. With the Academy adding a third of its members just last year, it's not unreasonable to understand why ‘Rhapsody’ and ‘Green Book’ triumphed at the Oscars and Golden Globes.
Fact of the matter is this, both movies are crowd pleasers, likable, charming, easy on the eyes and enjoyable because they seem to be what audiences want in a movie these days.
Sure, they are both safe approaches in otherwise tough thematic terrain, but maybe, just maybe, it is a possibility that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences aligns with the general audience more closely than it does with critics and cinephiles?
IMDB scores:
Green Book 8.3 (93,000 votes)
Bohemian Rhapsody 8.1 (272,000)
The Favourite 8/10 (75,000)
Roma 7.9 (86,000)
A Star is Born 7.9 (195,000)
BlackKklansman 7.5 (115,000)
Black Panther 7.3 (476,000)
Vice 7.2 (39,000)
Other Noteworthy films:
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 8.6 (115,000)
Isle of Dogs 7.9 (100,000)
Mission: Impossible — Fallout 7.8 (216,000)
Incredibles 2 7.8 (181,000)
A Quiet Place 7.6 (274,000)
Searching 7.7 (77,000)
Upgrade 7.6 (92,000)
Ready Player One 7.5 (286,000)
First Man 7.4 (100,000)
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs 7.3 (74,000)