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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Yes—at the September 30, 2026 Rotten Tomatoes snapshot, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (2025) was a clear, though not unanimous, success. The film had an 85% Tomatometer from 382 critic reviews and a 94% Popcornmeter from more than 1,000 verified audience ratings. Those scores indicate strong critical and viewer approval, but they are live aggregates that can change as more ratings arrive.
What are Frankenstein’s Rotten Tomatoes scores?
| Measure | Score | What it represents |
|---|---|---|
| Tomatometer | 85% | 382 critics’ reviews |
| Popcornmeter | 94% | More than 1,000 verified audience ratings |
The 9-point gap favors the audience: verified viewers were more enthusiastic than critics in this snapshot. Neither percentage means that 85% or 94% of people gave the film a particular star rating; each is the share of qualifying reviews or ratings counted as positive by Rotten Tomatoes. Because the page is continually updated, these figures should be read as a September 30, 2026 snapshot rather than a permanent historical record.
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What does Rotten Tomatoes’ consensus say?
Rotten Tomatoes’ critics’ consensus reads: “Finding the humanity in one of cinema’s most iconic monsters, Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein is a lavish epic that gets its most invigorating volts from Jacob Elordi’s standout performance.”
The site’s displayed audience summary says: “With his legendary visual touch, Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein resurrects Frankenstein as a modern Prometheus that’s gloriously gothic and heart-breaking.” These are aggregator summaries, not quotations from a single independent critic or viewer.
#1 Best Overall
- Lending his burlesque touch to 1970s genre revision, Mel Brooks followed his hit "western" Blazing Saddles with this parody of 1930s Universal horror movies. Determined to live down his family's reputation, Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (co-screenwriter Gene Wilder) insists on pronouncing his name "Fronckensteen" and denies interest in replicating his grandfather's experiments. But when he is lured b
Why critics responded positively
Visual design and scale
The strongest through-line in the reviews is admiration for the film’s production design, imagery and emotional ambition. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter called it “epic-scale storytelling of uncommon beauty, feeling and artistry.” That reaction captures why the film’s lavish gothic presentation is central to its appeal.
Jacob Elordi’s Creature
Rotten Tomatoes places Jacob Elordi’s performance at the center of its consensus. The Creature is treated as a tragic, human figure rather than only a horror icon, giving the film its emotional focus.
A deliberately expansive adaptation
Del Toro wrote and directed the film, with Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein and Elordi as the Creature. Its ambition extends beyond a conventional monster movie: it pursues a large-scale, melancholy interpretation of Mary Shelley’s story.
What reservations appear in the reviews?
Length and pacing
The film runs 149 minutes in the Rotten Tomatoes first-reviews roundup. Hoai-Tran Bui of Inverse described it as indulgent while admiring its images and performances. The film’s chaptered, voice-over-driven design can make its momentum feel stately rather than immediate.
Rank #3
- Movie dvd
Speaking to Netflix Tudum, editor Evan Schiff said, “With any movie that involves chapters and voice-over, keeping the momentum of the story up is really one of the greatest challenges that we have to keep an eye on.” That comment explains the structural challenge without claiming that every viewer experiences it the same way.
Horror versus spectacle
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian praised the distinctive visual style but wrote that it impeded the energy of horror for him. Other reactions similarly suggest that spectacle and emotional grandeur sometimes take precedence over tight pacing or sustained dread. Dwight Brown’s unfavorable excerpt on Rotten Tomatoes criticizes the long runtime, while Don Kaye’s excerpt calls the film superb. The split shows why an 85% aggregate can coexist with meaningful negative reviews.
Rank #4
- Factory sealed DVD
Is it faithful to Mary Shelley’s novel?
Netflix identifies the film as an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, first published in 1818. The movie uses an icebound Prelude followed by “Victor’s Tale” and “The Creature’s Tale,” a structure inspired by Shelley’s framed narrative.
That connection makes the novel a useful companion read, but the available evidence does not establish scene-by-scene fidelity. This is del Toro’s adaptation, with its own emphasis on visual mythmaking, romance, tragedy and gothic spectacle—not a literal transcription of the 1818 text.
Best Value
Who is the film best suited to?
- Choose it if you enjoy: ornate gothic production design, tragic character drama, literary adaptations and performances that treat the Creature as fully human.
- Approach cautiously if you want: a fast, compact horror film, relentless scares or a tightly economical runtime.
- Read Shelley first if: you want to compare the film’s chapter structure and themes with the novel’s original framing device.
Release, rating and where to watch
Rotten Tomatoes lists a limited theatrical release on October 17, 2025, followed by streaming on November 7, 2025. Netflix Tudum confirms that the film is streaming on Netflix, although availability can vary by territory.
Rotten Tomatoes lists a runtime of 2 hours 29 minutes and an R rating for grisly images and bloody violence. Netflix Tudum’s embedded listing shows 2 hours 32 minutes, so published runtimes differ slightly by source. Either listing describes a substantial, feature-length commitment rather than a brief horror film.
Does the film qualify as a wider awards success?
Beyond the review aggregates, Netflix reports that Frankenstein received five Golden Globe nominations, 11 Critics Choice nominations and four Critics Choice wins, as well as nine Academy Award nominations. Those honors broaden the case for success beyond Rotten Tomatoes, although they measure awards recognition rather than audience enjoyment.
Verdict: is Frankenstein a monster success?
On the evidence available at the September 30, 2026 snapshot, yes. An 85% Tomatometer and 94% verified-audience score make the film a strong critical and audience performer, with viewers even more enthusiastic than critics. The qualifications matter: some reviewers find the 149-minute scale indulgent, the pacing uneven and the horror less energetic than the visuals. If you want Guillermo del Toro’s sumptuous, emotionally serious take on Shelley, the numbers support watching it. If you want brisk, conventional horror, the same reviews warn that its grandeur may feel overextended.
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