Watchmen Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score Much Lower Than Critics

There have been plenty of movies and TV shows that divided fans and critics over the years. The majority of the time, people will really enjoy a film or show while the critics don't think too highly of it. Last year's Venom is a great example. The film was largely panned by critics, earning just a 29% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the film's audience store on the site is sitting at 80%, not to mention all of the box office records it broke throughout its theatrical run. Critics and fans disagreeing about art is nothing now, but critics raving about a new series that the fans don't seem to be into isn't quite as common.

HBO's Watchmen is one such project. Critics are absolutely raving about the new series, which made its premiere on Sunday night. However, while there is certainly a big audience for the high-profile HBO drama, the fans didn't seem to enjoy it quite as much, at least those who left ratings on Rotten Tomatoes didn't.

After one episode airing on the premium network, Watchmen boasts a stellar 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes, but its audience score sits at just 50%, a full 44 points lower. Perhaps people aren't as receptive to the high concept of the new series, but given the love for Game of Thrones and Westworld over the years, that probably isn't the case. It could just come down to a situation where people haven't seen enough to make up their minds just yet.

Critics were given multiple episodes before writing their reviews, rather than just the series premiere. There's a good chance that the experience of seeing four or six episodes of Watchmen could be much different than just watching one. If that's the case, the audience score will likely spike in the coming weeks.

That said, there's no telling exactly what is behind the low audience score for Watchmen. Half of all users who left a review for the show left a rating under 3.5, so there had to be something folks weren't really into.

What did you think of the Watchmen premiere on Sunday night? Will you be tuning in for a second episode? Let us know in the comments!