While nobody was surprised at its success, who could have guessed that the freshest wide release pick of 2005 would star a plasticine Englishman and his crafty canine friend? "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" reigns supreme this year, beating out two established movie franchises by a clear margin with an adjusted score of 84.65 and a 95% rating on the Tomatometer. With director Nick Park at the helm and a slew of award-winning short films to their name, the beloved duo of Wallace and Gromit delighted audiences in their first feature-length adventure -- saving the annual Giant Vegetable Competition from a mysterious veggie-eating creature. And although it is animated, "The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" has captured fans both young and old, as Newark Star-Ledger critic Stephen Whitty opined: "With its sneaky wit and layered jokes, 'Wallace and Gromit' makes even the big studios' most high-tech efforts feel flat." "The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" also wins best place in 2005's Animation category, earning Village Voice critic Ed Park's apt label as "a whimsical success of a very high order." And by the way, this movie is not the director's first brush with the Golden Tomato Award. In 2000 another claymation feature he helmed, "Chicken Run," won the Golden Tomato Award for the best reviewed movie of that year.

Another family-friendly adventure to rank high among the wide releases of 2005, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" comes in with an adjusted score of 81.77 and a Tomatometer of 89%. The fourth installation of the Harry Potter franchise, "Goblet of Fire" sees the maturing boy wizard tackling the dangers of an interscholastic magic tournament, as well as his biggest challenge yet: puberty. A decidedly darker story than the previous three Potter tales, this "Goblet" is, in the words of Hollywood Reporter critic Kirk Honeycutt, "the best one yet."

Rounding out the top wide releases of the year, Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" delivers an origin tale of the caped crusader that clocks in with an adjusted score of 77.80 and a Tomatometer of 83%. A welcome revival of the Batman series, "Batman Begins"' success is largely due to the new man behind the mask, as Ty Burr of the Boston Globe raved, "Christian Bale gives us the best Bruce Wayne that has ever graced the screen."

Check out the list below to see the rest of the winners.

» NEXT (The Best Limited Release of 2005)