Almost Perfect: 55 Movies With 99 Percent Ratings on Rotten Tomatoes

In May 2021, one negative review caused Paddington 2 (2017) to lose its perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes, sending the beloved sequel from the “100% Club” to the slightly less impressive “99% Club.”

But at least it’s in good company. The group of movies just shy of perfection features a number of Hollywood classics, from 1942’s Casablanca and 1949’s Orson Welles-starring The Third Man to the 1966 war epic The Battle of Algiers and the 1964 James Bond installment Goldfinger. That said, even a cursory glance at the list reveals that the overwhelming majority of the films came out in the 21st century—which is mostly because newer films garner more reviews.

“When a work generates nearly 400 critics’ appraisals, its Tomatometer score can better endure Rotten reviews and sustain its 99 [percent] score,” Rotten Tomatoes explained. “Classic films, by dint of having fewer reviews in written existence, can have their scores torpedoed by a single Rotten remark.”

In fact, a couple classic films have already fallen out of the 99% Club since Rotten Tomatoes last updated the list: 1959’s North by Northwest, whose score is now 97 percent, and 1950’s Sunset Boulevard, at 98 percent.

Finding Nemo (2003), on the other hand, is still holding strong at 99 percent, as are 2010’s How to Train Your Dragon and 2015’s Shaun the Sheep Movie. Even better represented than charming children’s tales are documentaries. There’s 2013’s 20 Feet From Stardom, about the backup singers behind your favorite superstars; and Raoul Peck’s I Am Not Your Negro (2016), which draws from James Baldwin’s work to paint a portrait of race in the U.S.

See the full list below, and find out more about the movies on it here.

1. 20 Feet From Stardom (2013)
2. 56 Up (2012)
3. Darbareye Elly (2009)
4. All About Eve (1950)
5. Amazing Grace (2018)
6. Apollo 11 (2019)
7. Ash Is Purest White (2018)
8. The Battle of Algiers (1966)
9. Bill Cunningham New York (2010)
10. Cameraperson (2016)
11. Casablanca (1942)
12. The Chambermaid (2018)
13. Chinatown (1974)
14. Eighth Grade (2018)
15. Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me (2013)
16. Faces Places (2017)
17. Finding Nemo (2003)
18. Gloria (2013)
19. Goldfinger (1964)
20. How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
21. I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
22. The Interrupters (2011)
23. The Invisible War (2011)
24. Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)
25. Knock Down the House (2019)
26. L.A. Confidential (1997)
27. Lady Bird (2017)
28. Le Havre (2011)
29. McQueen (2018)
30. Miss Juneteenth (2020)
31. The Missing Picture (2013)
32. Moolaadé (2004)
33. My Life As a Zucchini (2016)
34. Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020)
35. On the Record (2020)
36. On the Waterfront (1954)
37. Paddington 2 (2017)
38. Saint Frances (2019)
39. Selma (2014)
40. A Separation (2011)
41. Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015)
42. Shoplifters (2018)
43. Song of the Sea (2014)
44. Starred Up (2013)
45. The Tale (2018)
46. They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
47. Things to Come (2016)
48. The Third Man (1949)
49. Tower (2016)
50. Truman (2015)
51. The Twilight Samurai (2002)
52. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
53. Under the Shadow (2016)
54. Wadjda (2012)
55. The Wailing (2016)

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