Wish is one of Disney's worst-rated movies on Rotten Tomatoes

Disney's Wish opens in theaters this week but how does the film that celebrates the company's rich animation history stack up compared to its predecessors? Well, reviews are in and it's not good.

With 121 reviews counted on Rotten Tomatoes, Wish currently sits at just 48%, making it one of Disney's worst-rated animated movies of all-time. Of the 73 animated theatrical movies released by Disney -- excluding Pixar films -- Wish currently sits at No. 64.

That's lower than 2004's Home on the Range and just barely higher than 2002's Return to Neverland.

Now it's worth noting that most of the reviews for Wish aren't as negative as the Rotten Tomatoes aggregated score would indicate. In fact, most of the write-ups offer middling scores that praise the cast and music but lament its mostly forgetting plot and overall bland presentation.

The critics' consensus reads:

"Wish earns some tugs at the heartstrings with the way it warmly references many of the studio's classics, but nostalgia's no substitute for genuine storytelling magic -- no matter how beautifully animated it might be."

There does, however, appear to be a slight disconnect between critics and actual moviegoers as the audience score sits at a much more impressive 82%. It feels similar to the kind of reception for Illumination's The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which went on to earn more than $1 billion at the global box office.

I don't think anyone expects Wish to generate those sorts of box office numbers, but there is hope that it could help restore some box office magic for Disney. Current estimates track at $55 million for the five-day Wednesday to Sunday period over Thanksgiving weekend. That's lower than Disney's previous Thanksgiving openers like Ralph Breaks the Internet, Coco, The Good Dinosaur and Tangled, but also higher than last year's Strange World ($18.9M) and 2021's Encanto ($40.6).

Once a box office behemoth, Disney has struggled with its theatrical releases of late. Although some of their movies, like the aforementioned Encanto and even Elemental, found eventual success, the company has by-and-large failed to attract audiences to theaters.

Will Wish change that troubling trend?