The Acolyte sets Disney+ record for 2024

The Force is strong with The Acolyte, but the viewership is even stronger on Disney+, as the series just shattered a 2024 streaming record.

Deadline reports that the latest entry in the iconic Star Wars saga, The Acolyte, absolutely smashed expectations. The series debuted to 4.8 million views with its two-episode premiere.

Those numbers make The Acolyte the biggest premiere of 2024 and put the show in the upper echelon of Disney+ content. The Acolyte handily outpaces last year’s Ahsoka, which reportedly took five days to reach 14 million viewers.

Outside of Star Wars, this means The Acolyte also crushed this year’s previous Disney+ darling, X-Men ’97. According to Variety, the premiere episodes of X-Men ’97 took five days to amass 4 million views.

The general reaction to The Acolyte so far has been mixed, despite those viewing numbers. Rotten Tomatoes shows a 91% Tomatometer, but a 26% Audience Score.

Elsewhere, fans have expressed some concerns over the show’s premiere episodes and the massive twists. Many especially feel the show misused Carrie-Anne Moss, whose presence was utilised heavily in marketing.

Regardless, the numbers are big enough to turn heads and were clearly impressive enough that Disney felt they were worth sharing. Much like other streamers, getting exact and consistent figures can sometimes be like pulling teeth, so it speaks volumes that Disney promoted the data so quickly.

Star Wars: The Acolyte represents the earliest point in the Star Wars timeline to date, depicting a band of Jedi racing to solve a series of murders in the era of the High Republic.

If you haven’t yet caught up, new episodes of Star Wars: The Acolyte stream on Disney+ on Tuesdays. While you wait for a new episode, you can learn about all the new Jedi introduced by the series or read about the surprising twist in how today’s fans view Luke Skywalker.