Summary

• The Boys in the Boat has a critic score of 58% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it one of the worst wide releases in 2023's holiday season.
• However, the audience score for the film is currently at 97%, the highest among the eight major holiday season releases.
• The audience score for The Boys in the Boat is 2% higher than the audience score for The Color Purple.

The Boys in the Boat has pulled off a surprising Rotten Tomatoes coup. The movie, which follows the University of Washington crew rowing in the 1936 Summer Olympics and is based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Daniel James Brown, earned a critic score of 58% on the platform. This is the third-worst score for any wide release in 2023's packed holiday season, which includes The Iron Claw (88%), The Color Purple (86%), Wonka (83%), Ferrari (75%), Migration (72%), Anyone But You (52%), and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (35%).

Boys in the Boat movie. Although the score could fluctuate as more verified audience reviews are added, at the time of writing it is 97%. This is the best audience score for any of the eight 2023 holiday season releases, pulling 2% ahead of the audience score for The Color Purple (95%).

Will The Boys In The Boat Become A Sleeper Hit?

This huge discrepancy between critics and audiences could prove that The Boys in the Boat will have longevity thanks to word of mouth. At the time of writing, it has not turned out an entirely impressive box office performance. It premiered at No. 4 on Christmas Day and has dropped to No. 6 in the days since then, amassing a middling domestic total of $11.1 million so far. Check out how it compares to the totals of the other movies that opened on Christmas Day.

Despite its lukewarm box office, the Boys in the Boat true story seems to be resonating with the audience who have gone out to the theaters to see it. As viewers catch up with the other movies that are available in theaters, it is possible that the sports drama's word of mouth will begin to promote a groundswell of interest that leads it to become a sleeper hit. It could receive an additional boost from the January release of the miniseries Masters of the Air, which also stars Callum Turner.

It's always possible that the Boys in the Boat audience score is higher than its competition because it comes from a smaller group of more self-selecting voters. However, the Anyone But You release has earned even fewer audience votes and only has a score of 85%. With little competition from other adult dramas in January 2024 (the next at all comparable drama is Miller's Girl on January 26), the movie could leg out to a much more solid gross in the New Year.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes