Despite relentless review bombing that currently sees the show sitting at 14% on Rotten Tomatoes, there’s good news regarding the viewership of The Acolyte. After the show got 25,000 reviews (more than all three seasons of The Mandalorian) the show is outperforming the average top 100 show by a factor of six. Of all the Disney Plus shows so far, only Obi-Wan Kenobi has a higher factor.
Reelgood compared the live-action Star Wars Disney+ TV shows, looking at the first 14 days since The Acolyte’s release. They found that The Acolyte is the second most successful in terms of streaming and engagement, outperforming the average top 100 TV show by a factor of 6. It is only surpassed by Obi-Wan Kenobi, which outperformed the average top 100 TV show by a factor of 8.
This data gives a fascinating insight into how the various Star Wars Disney+ TV shows are performing. There can be no doubt the positive reaction to The Acolyte episode 5 will also have boosted the show’s performance, but the overall impact will only really become clear when the show has come to an end. Until then, though, this data suggests the online backlash against The Acolyte really isn’t representative of the fandom.
