The case of Ready Player One is a very unusual one when you crunch the numbers and compare it to public opinion. The literary adaptation brought in $582 million at the box office after releasing in March 2018, winding up with a very respectable 72% Rotten Tomatoes score in the process.
That makes it the sixth biggest commercial hit of the legendary Steven Spielberg’s career behind only Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, War of the Worlds, and The Lost World, while it even scored better reviews than a couple of those titles. And yet, when was the last time you heard anyone talk about Ready Player One?
It was heavy on nostalgia, pop culture iconography, things people loved from their childhoods spanning several generations, and came packing one of the greatest directors of all-time behind the camera, who promptly steered it to critical and commercial success. However, if you spend more than five minutes poring over reactions and responses to Ready Player One, the movie’s reputation has slowly been eroded over time, even though it’s been less than four years.
HBO Max subscribers don’t care, though, seeing as Ready Player One has shoved a fistful of memberberries directly into the mouths of viewers everywhere as per FlixPatrol, roaring back onto the most-watched list.
