Rotten Tomatoes Data Extraction
Extract publicly available data from Rotten Tomatoes at scale using AlterLab's API — JavaScript rendering, structured extraction, and automatic retries in one request.
Website Compatibility Notes
Rotten Tomatoes has light bot protections. Pages render well with basic JavaScript rendering for complete score and review data. Rate limiting is minimal for normal browsing patterns. Rotten Tomatoes is part of Fandango Media and applies relatively permissive access policies to public data.
Technical Context
Rotten Tomatoes movie URLs follow /m/{movie_slug} pattern. TV show URLs use /tv/{show_slug}. The Tomatometer is calculated from critic reviews only, while the Audience Score comes from verified audience ratings. Individual critic reviews list the publication, critic name, and a review excerpt. The Certified Fresh badge requires at least 80% and 40+ critic reviews.
Common Data Fields
Typical fields available when extracting data from Rotten Tomatoes:
Responsible Use
AlterLab is designed for extracting publicly available data. Always review the terms of service for any website you access, respect robots.txt directives, and ensure your use case complies with applicable laws in your jurisdiction. Do not use this service to access non-public, authenticated, or personally identifiable data without appropriate authorization.
Quick Start — Extract from Rotten Tomatoes
# Always verify the target site's robots.txt and terms of service before extracting data.
curl -X POST https://alterlab.io/api/v1/scrape \
-H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"url": "https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/example_movie",
"advanced": { "render_js": true }
}'Need an API key? — no credit card required.
Python Example
import requests
# Always verify the target site's robots.txt and terms of service before extracting data.
response = requests.post(
"https://alterlab.io/api/v1/scrape",
headers={
"X-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
"Content-Type": "application/json",
},
json={
"url": "https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/example_movie",
"advanced": {"render_js": True},
},
)
data = response.json()
print(data["content"][:500]) # First 500 chars of extracted contentFrequently Asked Questions
How do I extract Rotten Tomatoes scores?
Send Rotten Tomatoes movie or show URLs to AlterLab. You'll receive the Tomatometer score, Audience Score, critic consensus, and review counts from the public page.
Can I extract critic reviews from Rotten Tomatoes?
Yes. AlterLab renders review pages and returns critic names, publications, scores, and review excerpts from publicly displayed critic review sections.
What entertainment data does Rotten Tomatoes provide?
You can extract Tomatometer percentages, audience scores, cast/crew info, movie details (genre, runtime, rating), streaming availability, and critic consensus text.
What is the difference between Tomatometer and Audience Score?
The Tomatometer reflects the percentage of critic reviews that are positive (Fresh). The Audience Score reflects the percentage of verified audience reviewers who gave a positive rating. Both are displayed on movie pages and extractable via AlterLab.
Can I collect data on currently streaming movies from Rotten Tomatoes?
Yes. Rotten Tomatoes shows streaming availability (Netflix, Prime Video, etc.) on movie pages when that data is provided by the streaming services. AlterLab renders this section and returns the streaming service information.
How do I collect Rotten Tomatoes data for TV shows?
TV show pages are at rottentomatoes.com/tv/{show_slug} with season-specific pages at rottentomatoes.com/tv/{show_slug}/{season}. Each season has its own Tomatometer and audience score. AlterLab renders these pages and returns all score and review data.
Related Use Cases
Developer Scraping Resources
How to Scrape Rotten Tomatoes Data: Complete Guide
Step-by-step tutorial with Python and Node.js code examples, structured extraction, and cost breakdown for Rotten Tomatoes scraping.
How to Handle Bot Protection Challenges
All 6 detection layers explained: TLS fingerprinting, JS challenges, Turnstile, and more.
JavaScript Rendering API
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Python Web Scraping API
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