The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: December 19, 2025 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
5
Negative:
1

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzDec 19, 2025
This movie is a classic of silliness—no ifs, ands, or butts. Read full review
90
Screen RantGregory NussenOct 31, 2025
We all need a really good laugh, and Drymon and company deliver. Read full review
85
The Film VerdictAlonso DuraldeDec 19, 2025
Search for SquarePants comes down vigorously on the side of exuberance. Read full review
80
The Irish TimesTara BradyDec 17, 2025
The visual gags are fresh, the jokes are funny, the world-building is disarmingly buoyant, and the musical cues, from Holiday in Cambodia to Carmina Burana, are playful. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJustin LoweNov 4, 2025
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants easily delivers another rib-tickling, delightfully frantic fourth installment of the series. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenDec 18, 2025
Everybody involved seems to be having a blast making this latest “SpongeBob” a funny, fast-paced pleasure. Read full review
75
IndieWireAlison ForemanDec 17, 2025
Director Derek Drymon does better than you’d expect with Paramount’s spooky new feature film — expanding the swash-buckling legend of the Flying Dutchman (Mark Hamill) into a funny, vibrant hellscape sure to lure in kids and millennials alike. Read full review
70
Screen DailyTim GriersonDec 23, 2025
The beloved animated character’s latest big-screen adventure is an amusing romp full of the expected horrible puns, dopey slapstick and generally cheerful vibe. Read full review
63
The Associated PressLindsey BahrDec 19, 2025
It might not be the best of the bunch, but the infectious childlike spirit (and intestinal fortitude) remains firmly intact. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineDerek SmithDec 17, 2025
If the film’s breathless pacing and rapid-fire jokes run out of steam just a tad as SpongeBob’s stay in the underworld extends, Search for SquarePants is still charming, spirited, and ludicrous enough to prove that it’s not quite time to tell this series to walk the plank. Read full review
63
San Francisco ChronicleZaki HasanDec 17, 2025
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants may not be the series’ most inspired cinematic outing, but it’s a likable one, buoyed by strong performances, a few inspired casting choices and just enough heart beneath the nautical nonsense. Sometimes, that’s more than enough to keep things afloat. Read full review
60
The GuardianMike McCahillDec 27, 2025
Whether its spitballing silliness will linger when the lights come up is debatable, but it’s a solid SpongeBob movie. Read full review
60
Next Best PictureDaniel HowatOct 27, 2025
If you were hoping The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants would change the game for the franchise, you might be a little let down. That said, it’s still pretty hilarious, at least as funny as the last few films, with plenty of genuine laugh-out-loud moments that are best enjoyed with a crowd. Read full review
50
VarietyOwen GleibermanDec 23, 2025
“Search for SquarePants,” while it has amusing moments, is mostly SpongeBob treading water. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubTara Bennett Dec 19, 2025
The fourth theatrical feature film in the SpongeBob SquarePants oeuvre—The SpongeBob Movie: Search For SquarePants—doesn’t give audiences a memorable outing, much less a best day ever. It’s a big downgrade, and a huge disappointment for long-time fans of the subversive and unapologetically silly character. Read full review
40
EmpireHelen O'HaraDec 23, 2025
It’s relentless and exhausting for adults, but kids and die-hard SpongeBob fans may find something to love here as the consistently cheery fry cook once again out-dimwits a dastardly foe. Read full review
30
The New York TimesBrandon YuDec 18, 2025
All of its head-spinning action has a stultifying effect. At all times, the film seems afraid that it’ll lose its audience’s attention, barraging us with the mindlessly zany to hold our engagement. Read full review
More From This Movie

65 Critic Reviews

tbd User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 72 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL