Standing in the foyer of Chris MacNeil‘s Georgetown hime, Dr. Damien Karras and Father Lankester Merrin are discussing the gulf between critics and ticket buyers.

Karras: There are many contentious issues that separate them. The principal…
Merrin: There is only one.
Karras: Pardon?
Merrin: Sometimes opinions are similar or in synch, sometimes not. But there is only one constant that separates the two groups. Critics will always be kind to woke films of any kind…they will always bend over backwards to give such films a positive response. Especially if they write for IndieWire or The Daily Beast. Ticket buyers, not so much. If a film is good or agreeably diverting in some way, they might give it a thumbs-up. But if it’s woke, they’ll be much more discerning or stand-offish.