Ryan Reynolds' New Thriller Mayday Rotten Tomatoes Score Gets Official Audience Verdict

Published Sep 5, 2026, 7:53 PM EDT

Fariba Rezwan is a Lead Editor for the Movie News team. She has been with ScreenRant for nearly five years, with roles ranging from list editor to junior news editor. 

During that time, Fariba has led coverage for breaking movies and TV news, including Hunger Games, Marvel, and streaming. Additionally, she has actively provided commentary and reactions to the biggest movies and shows on her YouTube channel, The Movieception Show. 

In Apple TV's new movie, Reynolds' American protagonist must rely on Kenneth Branagh's ex-KGB agent to escape Soviet Russia after his plane went down. Ahead of its streaming release, Mayday reviews were mostly positive, with critics highlighting the pair's dynamic chemistry, the high-stakes action, and its throwback to '80s buddy comedies. The strong 81% on Rotten Tomatoes has caught audiences' attention, and the verdict is out.

With over 100 ratings so far, Mayday has debuted with a 66% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Shockingly, that makes it Reynolds' lowest-rated audience score in the last six years since 6 Underground (60%), and his overall lowest this decade.

Interestingly, it's a sharp contrast to the critical score, which is his best starring movie in the last eight years. The audience score is lower than some of Reynolds' more polarizing features, like Red Notice (92%) and The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard (79%).

Despite the less-than-stellar rating, it still means that many audiences enjoyed Reynolds' new movie. Both critics and audiences agree that Branagh's performance as the heroic weirdo and the high-octane action were standouts, but opinions regarding the comedy are split.

While some viewers praised the humor reminiscent of classic buddy comedies, others felt that the jokes and Reynolds' wise cracks didn't quite deliver. Interestingly, the silliness and the genre-bending nature also overwhelmed a few viewers, who were critical of the movie.

Nevertheless, Mayday has already made an impact on streaming, skyrocketing to #2 on Apple TV's overall charts just behind Ted Lasso, which is airing season 4. In the United States, the new thriller is the only movie ranked in the top 10 list and has surpassed hit shows like Silo, Dark Matter, and Slow Horses.

Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley reunite for the fourth time as the directing duo after Game Night, Vacation, and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. The star-studded cast also features Maria Bakalova, Marcin Dorociński, David Morse, and Wendy Crewson. Reynolds was one of the movie's producers through his company Maximum Effort.

Meanwhile, any chance of a possible sequel will rely on the creative team's interest and viewership numbers. In a recent ScreenRant cover story for Mayday, Goldstein addresses the possibility of a follow-up movie. Although he and Daley "have not talked about a Mayday 2," he believes "it would be really fun to continue the adventures of Nick and Troy." Branagh was also pragmatic, saying, "The audience always decides these things."

Following Mayday, Reynolds has a few projects lined up, which include a mix of starring and producing roles. While there are rumors that he will reprise Deadpool in Avengers: Doomsday, his confirmed movies include the animated feature Animal Friends and a fantasy adventure, Eloise.

Mayday is now streaming on Apple TV.

Release Date September 4, 2026

Runtime 110 minutes

Director John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein

Writers Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley

Producers Ashley Fox, Dana Goldberg, David Ellison, Don Granger, John G. Scotti, Johnny Pariseau, Jonathan Goldstein, Patrick Gooing