‘The Rise of Skywalker’ Never Had a Chance
Expecting ‘Star Wars’ to be bad may have made it worse
Love them or hate them, few movies generate expectations like the Star Wars flicks, but a new study finds those expectations often don’t match the actual experience — for better or worse. And in case you’re the type who tries to manage your expectations, the study also says that going in with low expectations is liable to dampen the overall experience.
The latest release in the series, the “whoppingly comprehensive galaxy quest” called The Rise of Skywalker, has generated more than $400 million in global box office sales at the time of this writing, and plenty of rants and raves. (Update: It’s now north of $900 million.) Rare is the Star Wars fan who doesn’t have a strong opinion, before and after they see any new episode.
But expectations can prove a strong force in whether a person enjoys the movie or not, according to a recently released study based on the previous episode in the franchise, 2017’s The Last Jedi. Researchers surveyed 441 people before they saw the movie, having them rate how happy, sad, and nostalgic they thought it would make them feel. Three weeks later, those who’d seen the movie rated how it actually made them feel, and they also rated their enjoyment and appreciation of the film.
