Forget critics, ‘Gran Turismo’ is exceeding expectations with audiences around the globe

With Gran Turismo having hit the gas on its limited theatrical release this past weekend, the jury is all out. Unfortunately, according to critics, Neill Blomkamp’s sports drama boasts a few too many flat tires to go the distance it probably wanted.

By all accounts, it doesn’t sound like a tried-and-true underdog ethos, nor an honest joint effort from stars Archie Madekwe and David Harbour was enough to save Gran Turismo from a weak script and an ultimate fumbling of Jann Mardenborough’s story, with perhaps the most heinous infraction being its portrayal of the racer’s Nürburgring Nordschleife crash, which sparked a fair share of controversy.

But it seems none of this sentiment has stopped Gran Turismo from capturing the hearts of countless audience members; at the time of writing, the film’s 58 percent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes contrasts heavily with its 98 percent audience rating. And after posting a reportedly impressive box office pull of $10.7 million from this weekend, it sounds like the word-of-mouth realm just might work in favor of the film’s ticket sales.

Of course, this in no way proves that the critics got this one wrong; perhaps there’s something to be said about how the critic’s plight of watching film after film without the same leisure as an audience member might lead to more jaded takes than the average moviegoer, but it mustn’t be forgotten that the critic’s responsibility is towards potential audience members who want to get their money’s worth for their splurge at the cinema.

But, ultimately, no opinion is going to matter more than your own, so if you’re interested in seeing which side of the racetrack you fall on, catch Gran Turismo in select theaters now as it awaits its wider, more accessible theatrical release on Aug. 25.