Cannes took a dump all over the film. IGN gave it a miserable 4/10 - an unexpectedly harsh rebuke from them. Now that it's out in the wild, the usual YT shock jocks that typically keep to the same narrative (Nerdrotic, Critical Drinker) are tearing it shreds. So par for the course. However! Outside that immediate bubble, things aren't looking flash. AngryJoe gave it a 3/10 (Joe and the boys tend to do their own thing). Go further afield past the performance outrage into more mainstream channels and ... yeah, not a lot of positive buzz. A few that I expected might be singing its praises (Campea) aren't overly enthusiastic. Even the reviews that could be considered on the fresher side aren't wildly enthusiastic and come with provisions.
Tracking from the preview night is also looking sad, with a recommendation score barely past 50% - basically on par with The Flash. This film needs strong word of mouth and some interest from the millennial demographic. With a budget of $300 million (and that's what's known and not even considering marketing), this needs to be hitting $800 million global before there's any talk of hitting breakeven. Several projections have this struggling to hit half a billion, which would mean a loss of hundreds of millions for LucasFilm / Disney. Again.
Here's an idea: Stop with the eyewatering movie budgets that require every film to be a box office powerhouse, invest in fresh ideas / proper talent again and take creative risks with a more frugal mindset. I'm so fucking over franchises.