The Naked Gunhas broken a Rotten Tomatoes audience score record after more than three decades. The new comedy movie stars Liam Neeson as wacky cop Frank Drebin Jr. and acts as a legacy sequel to the originalNaked Guntrilogy, which ran from 1988 through 1994, starringAirplane’s Leslie Nielsen as Lt. Frank Drebin.
Drebin is a character who originated in the 1982 seriesPolice Squad!, which was created byAirplane’s David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker and only ran for one six-episode season. Previously, glowingThe Naked Gunreviewsearned the sequel a Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score of 90% from critics, which isthe best for any movie in the franchise.
Rotten Tomatoeshas aggregated an official Popcornmeter score forThe Naked Gunnow that it has more than 100 verified user reviews. Although its 87% Popcornmeter score is slightly lower than its Tomatometer score, it still marksthe best audience score for any of theNaked Gunmovies, and the best since the 1988 original, which has 84%.
What This Means For The Naked Gun
It’s Upholding The Franchise’s Legacy
2025’sThe Naked Gunhascontinued the franchise’s longtime streak of earning positive reviews. In fact, over the years, the only score to slip below the 60% threshold, past which a title can be considered Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, was the 54% audience score earned byNaked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult.
However, the scores of theLiam Neeson movieare even more remarkable because the only installment to have earned better scores on either the Tomatometer or the Popcornmeter is the originalPolice Squad!series, which earned91% from critics and 95% from audiences.
Additionally, the show’s Popcornmeter score is the least statistically significant of the bunch, as it only comes from roughly 50 user reviews, whereas the three original movies all have at least 100,000 user reviews. Below, seea breakdown of the Rotten Tomatoes scores of the entire franchise:
91%
95%
88%
84%
77%
65%
54%
90%
87%
While the Popcornmeter score will most likely fluctuate as more reviews are added throughout thetheatrical run ofTheNaked Gun, if it can maintain its current level,it could cement itself in history as one of the best-regarded installmentsin an already iconic comedy movie franchise.
Our Take On The Naked Gun Audience Score
The Movie Could Kickstart A New Era For Liam Neeson
It remains to be seen howThe Naked Gunperforms at the box office. However, if its Rotten Tomatoes records are any indication, it could become a solid success. Should that happen, it could earn a sequel, potentially leading to a rash of Liam Neeson comedies in the same way that the success of 2008’sTakentransformed him into an action star.
