New Data Shows ‘The Acolyte’ as Second Most Successful Star Wars Show Ever – Surpassing Nearly All Others

Even before its release, ‘Star Wars: The Acolyte’ sparked considerable controversy. This stemmed from its premise, perceived lack of quality, and the backlash surrounding its diverse cast, female protagonist, and showrunner.

Following its release, the show received both praise and criticism, with scrutiny over its quality and potential canon inconsistencies. While ‘The Acolyte’ may not rank as the top Star Wars live-action show, it undeniably stands out as the most discussed and overanalyzed in franchise history.

For the past few weeks, we’ve been monitoring viewer data closely. Initially, ‘The Acolyte’ showed strong numbers just slightly below last year’s ‘Ahsoka.’ However, over the past two weeks, there has been a decline in “minutes watched,” with a drop of 31% followed by an 11% decrease. These statistics come from Luminate.

While some of this decline can be attributed to shorter episodes, recent episodes have been of similar duration. Therefore, the decrease is likely indicative of a slight waning interest in the show.

Here’s an intriguing twist: According to Reelgood’s data, ‘The Acolyte’ ranks as the second most successful Star Wars show! Reelgood shared this data with Screenrant, revealing some fascinating insights. They monitor 20 million monthly viewing decisions across US streaming platforms and compared ‘The Acolyte’ to other live-action Disney+ Star Wars shows. Surprisingly, their findings suggest that ‘The Acolyte’ may be more popular than commonly thought.

‘The Acolyte’ showed remarkable success, outperforming the average top 100 TV show by a factor of 6, which is a significant achievement. It was only surpassed by ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi,’ which outperformed by a factor of 8. However, despite these high scores, there’s a discrepancy with Luminate’s data showing a sharp decline in minutes watched.

It’s important to note that Reelgood’s “engagement” index criteria aren’t fully disclosed, and their data covers only the first 14 days since the show’s release. It’s worth remembering that during this initial period, ‘The Acolyte’ did indeed exhibit strong numbers, as also noted by Luminate.

After episode 3, which introduced an all-female coven of witches responsible for creating the twins Osha and Mae through the Force, ‘The Acolyte’ experienced a decline in viewership.

The true success of the show may only be determined after its full release. With three more episodes remaining, it’s likely to remain a topic of discussion in the weeks ahead.

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