Broom Kid said:
it certainly didn’t sour to the point where anyone could claim its “tolerated” popularity was only kept afloat due to the power of hope that sequels would “fix” it.

This suggested POV seems to be reflecting a small and extremely online subsect of the film’s (exponentially) larger audience.

So if box office numbers can’t be measurable (fine if you meant negligible, though that’s also somewhat subjective) because stacked circumstances make it all speculative, doesn’t the other side of that coin include inflated box office in the first place due to the brand? What about the Luke Skywalker tease at the end of TFA, that was bait on the hook for many legacy fans to return regardless of their feelings on the movie. What about the prequels? Many who hated TPM still returned for the other two with similar hope that it would all come together in the end. You can’t imply the silent majority in no way reflects the vocal side of the community.