Warner Bros.'s New Dr. Seuss Movie Earns Stellar Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score

Published Nov 9, 2026, 7:24 AM EST

Hannah Gearan (she/her) is has been writing for ScreenRant for over three years. Her deep cinema love traces back to age 11, when she equipped herself with a spiral-bound notebook, rated all the films she watched, and declared herself a critic. About a decade later, she received a BA from Wesleyan University, where she studied Film, Environmental Studies, and Writing. Hannah’s short film, Toxic Faucets, has screened at numerous film festivals, including the Independent Film Festival of Boston (IFFBoston). As a Movie News writer now, she draws upon her vast experience studying, making, and analyzing film as she approaches dynamic breaking stories. 

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It looks like Cat in the Hat audiences are having lots of good fun that is funny with this latest release.

An animated adaptation of the classic Dr. Seuss book The Cat in the Hat has recently been released in theaters. The movie stars Bill Hader as the lead voice actor in the titular feline role, with a voice cast of several known names including Bowen Yang, Giancarlo Esposito, Quinta Brunson, America Ferrera, and Xochitl Gomez. As in the original story, the catalyst for the film's adventurous plot is the arrival of a tall tuxedo cat in a hat accompanied by Thing 1 and Thing 2, who guide the leading children on an adventure.

Now that it has been out in theaters for a few days, audiences have had a chance to weigh in on The Cat in the Hat. The Dr. Seuss adaptation's Rotten Tomatoes audience Popcornmeter sits at a stellar 87%. This means that the vast majority of the over 250 people who rated it on Rotten Tomatoes like the movie. The positive audience comments point out how strong the animation was, and that it was an entertaining movie for the whole family.

Viewers are ultimately diverging with critics on this one. The Tomatometer for Cat in the Hat is a whole 40 percentage points below its Popcornmeter, sitting at a 47%. Unlike the near universal positivity of the audience score, this situates The Cat in the Hat in the rotten range on the platform. This mixed response is reflected in the review from ScreenRant's Liz Declan, who gave the film 5 out of 10 stars and said it "has more dips than delights" overall.

What critics audiences do unite on, however, is the fact that this version of Cat in the Hat is far better than its 2003 live-action counterpart. That movie, led by Mike Myers in the main role, was on the rotten side for both its Popcornmeter and Tomatometer. Audiences gave it a 59% approval rating, whereas critics gave it an abysmal 11%. That movie is still touted as an uncanny, unsuccessful adaptation.

Its the audience who determines the ultimate fate of the movie. As much as critics may like or dislike a film, if it gets people in seats, it will be measured as a box office success. So far, Cat in the Hat is on a decent track to do so, making $20.5 million domestically in its opening weekend. It will eventually face competition from Thanksgiving movies like Hexed, but if it can maintain momentum right now, The Cat in the Hat can go down as an overall audience success.

The Cat in the Hat