Despite becoming the best-reviewed science fiction movie of 2017, Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi also received the worst Rotten Tomatoes audience score of any film in the franchise. A person with the online moniker "Down with Disney's Treatment of Franchises and its Fanboys," took credit for the intentional skewing of the Tomatometer score, and now it looks like he or she wants to take that approach to Star Wars and apply it to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Specifically, "Down with Disney's Treatment of Franchises and its Fanboys" has started another movement to tank Black Panther's Rotten Tomatoes audience score.
With Ryan Coogler's Black Panther right around the corner, the online profile called "Down With Disney's Treatment of Franchises and its Fanboys" has once again taken to the internet and called on DCEU fans to intentionally give Black Panther a negative audience review on Rotten Tomatoes. This event is being called "Give Black Panther a Rotten Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes," and will happen on February 15 when early audience screenings for the film begin. The movement is being framed as a way to fight back against Disney for (in this user's opinion) helping foster lousy press for DC movies while skewing critical reception in favor of Disney-produced projects from Marvel and Star Wars.
This event follows a similar movement to take down Star Wars: The Last Jedi's audience score, which the creator of this event takes credit for doing. Looking ahead to the future, the creator of the "Give Black Panther a Rotten Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes" event has also confirmed that there are currently plans to create similar events for Avengers: Infinity War and the Marvel Netflix shows like Daredevil and Jessica Jones.
One thing worth noting about this anti-Black Panther movement is that many supporting its Facebook event have endeavored to make it clear that they are protesting Disney, and not Black Panther's themes, story, or source material. Instead, the issue addressed by this event is the perceived idea that Disney-produced movies like Black Panther and Star Wars: The Last Jedi get disproportionately well-reviewed compared to other franchises. The chief example provided in this case is the DCEU, as movies like Justice League and Suicide Squad have become critically-panned, but other posts made by this group elsewhere on Facebook have also implored X-Men franchise fans to join the cause as well.
We will ultimately have to wait and see how this movement affects Black Panther -- if it does affect Ryan Coogler's movie at all. (And RT has previously made it seem like this would be difficult.) The film has already shattered superhero ticket sale records, and the early critical reactions to it have been overwhelmingly positive. That said, will see what audiences have to say about it when Black Panther finally debuts in theaters on February 16.
