Even those who don’t like Star Wars can likely quote many of the iconic lines, name several of the legendary characters and give a basic plot summary of at least one of the movies. The intergalactic series is arguably the most prominent cinematic franchise in the American public’s mind, but according to a poll on Twitter it’s not the most popular. That distinction belongs to The Lord of the Rings.
In a head-to-head poll put up by a Netflix affiliate Twitter account, 61% of voters elected to go with the Tolkien-inspired movies over Star Wars. Apparently, 38,041 people took part in the referendum, which means that it does hold some validity. It’s also not like the account is slanted towards Lord of the Rings. It’s possible that the space franchise has taken a hit in recent years due to the follow-up trilogies that never lived up to the impressiveness of the first one.
The public is definitely experiencing a bit of Star Wars fatigue, too. The films’ merchandise sales continue to spiral downward, while the recently-opened theme park Galaxy’s Edge has already been labeled a colossal flop. This is following the disappointing box office numbers of Solo: A Star Wars Story and the subsequent icing of any future spinoffs set in the same universe.
The movies continue to rake in money at the box office, though not as much as Disney expected when they acquired the rights years ago. It’s possible that moviegoers are just worn out from the constant bombardment of material from the series. There seems to be a new installment in theaters every year, along with television shows and specials popping up all the time.
The Lord of the Rings, on the other hand, hasn’t put out any new content in a long time. As the old saying goes: distance makes the heart grow fonder. It remains to be seen if this trend continues, but Star Wars isn’t going down without a fight. Now that the new Tolkien-inspired TV show is heading to Amazon Prime, George Lucas’ creation will hit back with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker on December 20th.
It’s possible that this poll is just an anomaly, sure, but more likely it’s indicative of the franchise’s steady decline in the eyes of its audience. Regardless, it better right the ship soon or else The Lord of the Rings will be taking over the mantle.