Spongebob Squarepants’ New Movie Just Broke A Record That’s Stood for 10 Years

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The latest SpongeBob movie, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, opened in theaters this weekend and quickly broke a 10-year-old box office record. Tom Kenny returns as the voice of SpongeBob, and Mark Hamill joins the cast as a special guest star. The film follows SpongeBob on a quest to prove his bravery, taking him on an adventure with The Flying Dutchman through the Underworld. Alongside Kenny as SpongeBob and Clancy Brown as Mr. Krabs, Mark Hamill voices The Flying Dutchman, and the cast also includes Regina Hall, George Lopez, and Ice Spice.

The latest SpongeBob movie has become the best-reviewed of the franchise, earning an 85% ‘Fresh’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This surpasses the previous record held by The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015), which scored 80%. Earlier films in the series weren’t as well-received; The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (2020) received a 66% rating, and the original The SpongeBob Movie (2004) earned 68%. Most recently, The Plankton Movie (2025) achieved a 71% score.

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: Search for SquarePants Hits All-Time Critical High

Critics often have high expectations for animated movies like those featuring SpongeBob SquarePants, and it’s tough for them to make a good impression. These films are frequently criticized for being unoriginal, and if they do try something different, it’s often still met with disapproval. It’s a difficult situation for them to get positive reviews. However, the previous highest-rated animated movie took a big risk with a strange style, including live-action elements, and featured Antonio Banderas as the villain in a live-action performance.

While the new movie isn’t groundbreaking, it benefited from having Mark Hamill voice the iconic character, The Flying Dutchman. Hamill is still a fan-favorite voice actor, largely due to his memorable performance as the Joker in the Batman series. It’s been a busy year for Hamill, as he also appeared in two Stephen King adaptations – The Long Walk and The Life of Chuck – and wrapped it all up with a role in the new SpongeBob movie.

Critics generally liked The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, highlighting its expected humor and playful comedy. They also appreciated that the movie kept a lighthearted, teen-like feel without being mean-spirited. Some negative reviews pointed out it wasn’t typical kids’ fare – which is in line with the show’s style – and that a few jokes felt repetitive. However, fans of SpongeBob SquarePants will likely enjoy this film. Early indications suggest it’s a strong improvement over the previous movie, Sponge on the Run, though audience scores aren’t yet available.

Why Did Mark Hamill Play The Flying Dutchman?

It’s a bit unusual to see Mark Hamill take on the role of the Flying Dutchman, especially with original voice actors Tom Kenny and Clancy Brown returning. Hamill replaced Brian Doyle-Murray, who had voiced the character for the past 25 years. Doyle-Murray is Bill Murray’s brother, and it’s currently unknown why he left the show. He hasn’t appeared in a film since 2018 or on television since 2022.

Mark Hamill also made an appearance at Comic-Con this year. On the Blu-ray release of The Long Walk, a special feature reveals he joked that kids would dislike him after seeing his performance in The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, hinting at a particularly nasty villain role – even more so than in the TV series. Despite the reason for him taking over the role, Hamill seemed enthusiastic about the movie.

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2025-12-19 23:42