People really liked TFA. Nothing makes 900mil+ domestically out of a sense of “tolerance.”
It’s kinda silly to look at the unprecedented success (and critical reception) TFA got and say people only “tolerated” it. They obviously really, really liked it. Liking a movie and hoping the sequel does the stuff you liked EVEN BETTER aren’t mutually exclusive ideas. TLJ didn’t make as much as TFA for multiple reasons, hashed out in multiple discusssions over the last five years, but I don’t think in any way that “pent up rage” from the audience had any real effect on that box-office dip.