**Buddy** opened in wide release on August 28 after a well-received Sundance Midnight premiere, quickly earning an 87% Tomatometer on roughly 100 reviews. Critics have highlighted its sharp subversion of 1990s children’s-TV aesthetics, practical gore, and Keegan-Michael Key’s unsettling vocal performance as the title unicorn, driving the score into the mid-to-high 80s. Audience scores sit slightly lower around 83%, reflecting some reservations about pacing and the finale. With resolution set for the morning of August 31, any late mainstream notices could produce minor movement, but the current consensus appears stable and unlikely to cross key thresholds without significant new outliers. Traders are monitoring whether additional reviews will hold or nudge the final certified score before lock.