Star Wars Officially Divides Critics & Audiences on Rotten Tomatoes for the 9th Time With The Mandalorian & Grogu

At long last, the seven-year Star Wars movie hiatus is over with the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu, which is now playing in theaters. Even though it marks the franchise’s return to the big screen after nearly a decade, hype for the film seems far more muted than one might expect. Box office projections are the lowest for a Disney-era Star Wars movie, and the Rotten Tomatoes critics score (62%) is one of the franchise’s worst. However, it looks like Star Wars fans are coming out to cast their votes of support for The Mandalorian and Grogu, which is the latest in a long line of Star Wars titles to split critics and viewers.

On Rotten Tomatoes, The Mandalorian and Grogu‘s audience score is a sterling 88%. As of this writing, that’s a difference of 26%. With this, The Mandalorian and Grogu is the ninth Star Wars movie or TV show to have a difference of 20% or more between the two Rotten Tomatoes score (in one direction or the other). Check out the full list below:

Will Audiences Give The Mandalorian and Grogu a Boost at the Box Office?

It is important to keep in mind that it is still very early in The Mandalorian and Grogu‘s box office run. Thursday preview screenings took place only a day ago as of this writing, so it remains to be seen how or if the Rotten Tomatoes audience score will fluctuate over time. The biggest Star Wars fans, the ones excited about the movie enough to rush out and see it on opening weekend, are likely the people to be the most positive about the film. There will surely be more dissenting opinions once more moviegoers get a chance to see it, but this is still an encouraging sign for The Mandalorian and Grogu.

The most recent box office projections leading into the weekend pegged the film for a worldwide debut of about $160 million. Some analysts were more bullish on the movie’s prospects, citing the potential for a strong turnout from the family demographic. The odds of that kind of turnout happening may increase if audience word of mouth continues to be positive. Particularly in the case of films specifically targeting families with youngsters, professional review scores don’t have much impact on the box office. Case in point: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has a critics score of 42%, but an 88% audience score. It’s grossed $968 million worldwide so far.

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The Mandalorian and Grogu isn’t going to make as much as The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, but if the general consensus amongst fans is that it’s a fun, pulpy space adventure worth seeing on the big screen, then there’s a chance it could exceed its modest box office estimates. When discussing the commercial prospects of a family film, the biggest question to consider is whether or not the kids will be entertained. Receiving widespread acclaim certainly doesn’t hurt, but it’s not a requirement for a family-friendly movie to do well at the box office. Early indication is that children in particular will have a blast watching The Mandalorian and Grogu (much credit goes to the cute antics of Grogu himself for that), and with still about a month to go before Toy Story 5, this is the best option for that audience right now.

Franchise films have a tendency to be front-loaded at the box office, doing a majority of their damage during the first weekend. The ones that generate positive word of mouth are typically the ones that have the strongest legs and can continue to post healthy numbers a few weeks into their run. Hopefully, The Mandalorian and Grogu‘s audience score will stay as high as it currently is, and people will tell their friends and family that they should go see it in theaters while they have the chance.

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