Millie Bobby Brown's Enola Holmes 3 dips to a franchise-first low on Rotten Tomatoes

Netflix just dropped the third Enola Holmes, and yep, the game is back afoot. Only this time, the big mystery arrived before anyone hit play: those early Rotten Tomatoes numbers are rougher than fans probably expected.

Quick refresher on the vibe

These movies ( pulled from Nancy Springer’s books ) turn Sherlock’s kid sister into the star: Enola breaks the fourth wall, cuts through Victorian nonsense, and barrels through puzzles like it ’s a sport. The first two films built a loyal crowd off that playful tone, snappy cases, and the easy chemistry between Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, and Louis Partridge.

How Enola Holmes 3 opened on Rotten Tomatoes

Enola Holmes 3 started streaming July 1 and bowed with the franchise ’s softest scores at launch. Numbers shift as more reviews land, but the opening snapshot is pretty clear:

• Enola Holmes: Critics 91%, Audience 71%
• Enola Holmes 2: Critics 93%, Audience 79%
• Enola Holmes 3 (at debut): Critics 70%, Audience 69%

So, lowest of the three on both fronts out of the gate. Not a disaster, but definitely a step down from the first two.

What changed behind the camera

The script still comes from returning writer Jack Thorne, but there’s a notable shift in the director ’s chair: Philip Barantini (Adolescence ) takes over for Harry Bradbeer, whose energetic style helped define the franchise early on. If you sense a tonal or stylistic wobble this time, that’s likely why. It’s a big swing to change captains on movie three.

The new case: sun, vows, and a missing Holmes

This round moves the action to Malta, swapping London fog for coastal sun. Enola heads there expecting to marry Lord Tewkesbury (yes, Louis Partridge is back), only for the festivities to get nuked when Sherlock vanishes under sketchy circumstances. That disappearance drags Enola into her most personal hunt yet, complete with coded messages, wartime secrets, hidden treasure, and a conspiracy that reaches well past the Holmes family tree. Brown and Cavill are front and center again, and the story tries to go bigger on stakes without losing the wink-and-nudge charm.

Bottom line

Critics seem split early, but Enola Holmes thrives on personality as much as puzzle-box plotting. If the Maltese detour, the family drama, and the treasure-trail hook you, the scores may not matter. Either way, it’s now streaming, and we’ll see if word of mouth nudges those percentages up from their wobbly start.