‘Paddington 2’ dethrones ‘Citizen Kane’ as highest-rated film on Rotten Tomatoes

Don’t tell your grandfather.

Citizen Kane is known as one of the few classic films that has stood the test of time, but according to new rankings from review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, it apparently doesn’t hold a candle to 2017’s Paddington 2. 

The beloved sequel about an adorable English teddy bear has dethroned Citizen Kane as the #1 film on Rotten Tomatoes’ Certified Fresh list, all thanks to an unearthed 1941 film review—a negative review for Citizen Kane.

Rotten Tomatoes resurfaced an 80-year old negative review by The Chicago Tribune, which was coincidentally titled “Citizen Kane Fails to Impress Critic as Greatest Ever Filmed.” The Orson Welles film then dropped from a 100% to 99% Certified Fresh rating. Paddington 2 now remains at the site's top spot with abysmal negative reviews.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Paddington 2 director and writer Paul King simply brushed off the coveted Internet ranking.

 "It's extremely lovely to be on any list—which includes Citizen Kane—but it is obviously quite an eccentric list that goes from Citizen Kane to Paddington 2, so I'll try not to take it too seriously,” he shared.

Meanwhile, Paddington Bear remained ever-so humble with a cheeky reference to dethroning the 1941 landmark film.

I do hope Mr Kane won't be too upset when he hears I've overtaken him with rotten tomatoes.

— Paddington (@paddingtonbear) April 28, 2021