Hellboy Rotten Tomatoes score paints a damaging picture

It took until preview day for Hellboy to receive its Rotten Tomatoes score and reviews, and they are not positive.

Hellboy twice graced theaters, in 2004 and 2008’s Ron Perlman-helmed and Guillermo del Toro-directed films. Only 11 years later, the franchise was rebooted under director Neil Marshall and actor David Harbour, who took over the titular role.

The 2019 reboot will release its preview showings Thursday night, before the worldwide takeover of movie theaters. Unfortunately for it, the early reception has been poor.

The anticipated Rotten Tomatoes score aggregated critics’ reviews of Marshall’s film, and as of this writing, it sits at 13 percent.

Adding fuel to the fire, according to The Wrap, there was behind-the-scenes drama on the Hellboy set. That included battles between Marshall and producers Lawrence Gordon and Lloyd Levin.

It paints a poor picture for this film, and the reports of the on-set issues are horribly timed for its entry into theaters. Add the Rotten Tomatoes score, and it makes for a disastrous opening weekend that may hurt Hellboy‘s box office revenue.

13 percent is not the worst score for a superhero movie, however, as seen with other flicks that have arrived over the decades:

• X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009): 37 percent
• The Punisher (1989): 28 percent
• Fantastic Four (2005): 27 percent
• Green Lantern (2011): 26 percent
• Spawn (1997): 18 percent
• Supergirl (1984): 10 percent
• Batman & Robin (1997): 10 percent
• Catwoman (2003): 9 percent
• Fantastic Four (2015): 9 percent

Obviously, that is unfortunate company to be grouped with.

Compared to del Toro’s films, the 2004 movie had an 81 percent score and the 2008 sequel went for 86 percent.

A Rotten Tomatoes score does not mean everyone will dislike Hellboy. For comparison, 95 percent of Google Users liked 2018’s Venom, but it received just 28 percent on the Tomatometer.

Hellboy is still worth viewing to garner your own reaction, but the widespread, negative outpouring of reviews is a concern entering its worldwide release on Friday, April 12.