The Strangers: Chapter 3 Earns Worst Franchise Score Yet on Rotten Tomatoes

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The Strangers: Chapter 3, the fifth film in the long-running horror franchise, has received the worst Rotten Tomatoes score of the entire series with a dismal 13% rating from critics. This continues the downward trajectory of the franchise, which peaked at 50% for the original 2008 film. Critics have largely panned the new movie, with multiple reviews giving it the lowest possible scores. The franchise has struggled commercially as well, with each new installment grossing less than the previous one.

Why it matters

The poor critical and commercial performance of The Strangers: Chapter 3 could spell trouble for the future of the franchise. While the series has maintained a loyal audience, the steadily declining box office and Rotten Tomatoes scores suggest that interest in the masked killers may be waning. This could make it difficult for the studio to justify green-lighting additional sequels, especially if the latest installment fails to turn a significant profit.

The details

The Strangers: Chapter 3 is the third installment in director Renny Harlin's trilogy of movies starring Madelaine Petsch as a young woman targeted by masked home invaders. It is the fifth overall film in the Strangers franchise, which began in 2008. The new movie has received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics, with many giving it the lowest possible scores on their scales. This has resulted in an aggregated Rotten Tomatoes score of just 13%, the worst in the franchise's history.

• The Strangers franchise kicked off in 2008 with the original film.
• The second installment, The Strangers: Prey at Night, was released in 2018.
• The Strangers: Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 were released in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
• The Strangers: Chapter 3 debuted on February 6, 2026.

What’s next

It remains to be seen if audiences' opinions differ from critics', but the franchise has so far never received a positive user score on the Popcornmeter either. While viewers have been more kind to the new Strangers trilogy than critics, the scores have still never hit the 60% threshold.