Knives Out 3 Sets New Franchise Record Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery has broken a Rotten Tomatoes record for the whodunit franchise. 2025’s Wake Up Dead Man, which debuted on Netflix on December 12, is the third installment from writer-director Rian Johnson.

The movie features Daniel Craig reprising his role as detective Benoit Blanc opposite a star-studded ensemble cast that includes Josh O’Connor, Andrew Scott, Mila Kunis, Josh Brolin, Kerry Washington, Cailee Spaeny, Jeremy Renner, Daryl McCormack, Thomas Haden Church, and Glenn Close.

Rotten Tomatoes has now received more than 500 verified user reviews for Wake Up Dead Man, which have earned the movie a Verified Hot score of 94% on the Popcornmeter. While every installment has been Verified Hot, the new movie has beaten the 92% score earned by both 2019’s Knives Out and 2022’s Glass Onion.

While the Popcornmeter score could fluctuate as more Wake Up Dead Man reviews are added, for the time being, it is performing even better with audiences than it is with critics. On the Tomatometer, it earned a Certified Fresh score of 92%, making it the second highest-rated movie of the franchise between Glass Onion (91%) and Knives Out (97%).

In addition to achieving this record within its own franchise, this 94% Popcornmeter score marks the best of all time for multiple key stars from the Wake Up Dead Man cast.

The roster of stars for whom Wake Up Dead Man has become their highest-rated movie as an actor on the Popcornmeter includes Daniel Craig (beating Knives Out and Glass Onion), Glenn Close (beating Guardians of the Galaxy‘s 92%), Mila Kunis (beating Goodrich‘s 85%), Jeremy Renner (beating The Avengers‘ 91%), Kerry Washington (beating Django Unchained‘s 92%), and Cailee Spaeny (beating Alien: Romulus‘ 85%).

It remains to be seen if this level of audience and critical enthusiasm translates into strong viewership on Netflix. Wake Up Dead Man previously disappointed during its brief run in limited theaters, becoming the first installment to debut outside the domestic Top 5 over Thanksgiving weekend.

However, this does not necessarily mean that Wake Up Dead Man will underperform on Netflix. In fact, it is entirely possible that audiences have come to view the whodunit franchise as a Netflix property thanks to Glass Onion also being an exclusive title for the streamer.

This could mean that the majority of viewers have been waiting for the streaming premiere, which could still give Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery a chance to surge up Netflix’s all-time chart.