Though most of Tim Burton‘s films are beloved classics, his 2005 remake has aged poorly and there is hard data to back up that claim. Burton became a household name in the late ’80s and early ’90s with films like Batman, Edward Scissorhands, and Beetlejuice, and it was his distinct style that set him apart from other Hollywood filmmakers. Burton’s use of quirky visuals and unique writing was unrivaled for the first few decades of his career, and he could always be counted on to deliver something truly one-of-a-kind, even if he was just producing the project.

However, Burton’s star started to fall in the 2000s, and the auteur director began helming film after film that failed to match the classics of his early years. Instead of creating new and original ideas, Burton began renting himself out to direct remakes like Planet of the Apes, and franchise films like Alice in Wonderland, and those projects reduced his ability to have total creative control. One of his most divisive films was released in 2005, and though it was well-received upon release, there is science that proves it aged poorly in the eyes of the modern audience.

Charlie And The Chocolate Factory’s Ratings Have Dropped By Over 18 Percent

The Divisive Remake Is Clearly Falling Out Of Favor

The claim that films have “aged poorly” is nothing new, but now Stat Significant has finally provided hard data as to which films have fallen off the most. Using online ratings averages from the past and present, the stats show that Tim Burton’s remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has seen the fourth-steepest decline of any film sampled. Losing only to outright racist movies like The Birth of a Nation and Song of the South, as well as problematic films like 1995’s The Nutty Professor, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory fell by 18.3% between its release and the 2018-2023 date range.

The movie’s average rating in the pre-social media era (1995-2004) was 3.61, but fell all the way to 2.95 in recent years (2018-2023). It’s important to note that the Tim Burton film was released in 2005, at the beginning of what the chart defines as the social media era, and it’s unclear how that affects the data. Furthermore, the survey mentions that all films saw an average decline of nearly 5% in the years after their release.

What This Means For Tim Burton’s Charlie And The Chocolate Factory

A Decline Was Expected, But The Remake Still Fell Off Significantly

Modern reᴀssessments are often somewhat harsh, but the nearly 20% decline in ratings for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is almost unheard of. When looking at the rest of the films on the list below the remake, its a smattering of films that were generally overrated when they debuted, feature a problematic figure, or are documentaries that are very much a product of their times. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is an outlier, especially because it’s directed by Tim Burton. However, it doesn’t indicate a decline in ratings for Burton in general, merely a more realistic look at that film.

Our Take On Charlie And The Chocolate Factory’s Decline

The Remake Is Finally Being Fairly Rated

The steep decline in ratings is exactly what the 2005 remake deserves. While there are certainly extenuating factors, I see the film’s ratings decline as a fair drop towards what it should have been rated in the first place. In 2005, Tim Burton was still a Hollywood tastemaker, and there were many who weren’t willing to admit that he could make a clunker. Hindsight has revealed that Burton isn’t bulletproof, and he’s even made worse films in the two decades since the remake’s release.

Generally, remakes are not necessary, but the changes made for the 2005 film were odd and somewhat mean-spirited, and the movie lacks the fun imagination of the original. Another reason I see the film’s decline is that the bloom has come off the rose for Johnny Depp. In 2005, he was the biggest star in Hollywood, but Depp’s legal controversies have generally soured his reputation. Overall, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was always a bad movie, and it’s finally getting its just desserts.