Blue Beetle Is The First DCU Film To Receive This Rotten Tomatoes Designation Since 2021

For the first time in almost exactly two years, a DCU film is rated above 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, meaning it's officially certified fresh. "Blue Beetle," which chronicles the origin story of Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) and the parasitic doomsday alien AI grafted to his spine, is currently sitting at 76% critical approval on the review aggregate site. Any production that achieves 60% or higher is considered fresh, but only those above 75% are certified fresh. Within these parameters, only four other DCU films are certified fresh, with the last film in DC's backlog to do so being James Gunn's "The Suicide Squad" in 2021, where it scored an impressive 90%. Since then, DC has released "Black Adam," "Shazam: Fury of the Gods," and "The Flash," all of which failed to hit this benchmark.

Matt Reeves' "The Batman" was released during this window of time, as well, and received a solid 85%, but it's not officially part of the DC's larger cinematic universe. Much like Todd Phillips' "The Joker," the film exists beneath the studios' Elseworlds brand, which features non-canonical depictions of popular DC characters.

Only one more film, "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," stands between audiences and the new DCU. Technically speaking, all of the aforementioned canonical films, including "Blue Beetle," began life as part of the previously named DCEU. Should "Aquaman" also critically appease, then DC is set to start Gunn, and Peter Safran's DC universe reboot with "Superman: Legacy" and a host of public goodwill.

Aside from "Blue Beetle" and "The Suicide Squad," only three other DCU films have successfully achieved a certified fresh rating above 75% on Rotten Tomatoes. "Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)" scored a 78%, "Shazam!" scored a 90%, and "Wonder Woman" scored a 93%. Conversely, projects like "Man of Steel," the theatrical version of "Justice League," and "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" are labeled rotten. 

There is, however, one DCU project that scored higher than anything else previously mentioned. It's just not one of the DCU's films. Season 1 of "Peacemaker," another James Gunn creation, currently holds the highest freshness rating of any DCU-related property. The Max series boasts a 94%, beating out "Wonder Woman" by a single digit. With two of the six certified fresh DCU properties being under Gunn's creative control, it bodes well for what he will bring to the franchise as one of DC Studios' co-CEOs. Hopefully, for DC, more certified fresh ratings are just around the corner.

It's worth mentioning that Rotten Tomatoes' scoring system, especially the critic score, is not indicative of financial success. Two of the highest-grossing DCU films are "Suicide Squad" — the other one — and "Aquaman" and neither production achieved a certified fresh rating. Since "Blue Beetle" is still in its opening weekend, it's too soon to say where it will fall on the financial side of things, but it's sitting higher on the Rotten Tomatoes' critic score than "Aquaman," which scored a 66%.