Look at these numbers: “Mission: Impossible III” gets a 70-percent critical approval rating on the RottenTomatoes.com TomatoMeter (fresh!), and yet takes in a devastatingly disappointing $48 million in its opening weekend at the domestic box office.

Two weeks later, “The Da Vinci Code” is destroyed by critics at Cannes and across America, ranking a lowly 21 on the TomatoMeter (rotten!) — and yet it took in $77 million opening weekend in the States and set international box-office records.

Asks The New York Times’ Manohla Dargis: “Does this mean that critics are out of touch with the public? Maybe, but really, who cares? All that box office doesn’t make [‘The Da Vinci Code’] a good movie.”

Surely the most likely explanation is that millions of people worldwide are conspiring to undermine the all-powerful hegemony of cinematic critical opinion! I mean, isn’t that what critics are supposed to do — predict box-office results? How can they wield their indomitable might (along with Hollywood and the Liberal Media) if people won’t cooperate?!?!

Or maybe I’m wrong.

Jim Emerson

Jim Emerson is the founding editor of RogerEbert.com and has written lots of things in lots of places over lots of years. Mostly involving movies.

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