| 100% | BARS | 4 | "Star ___," swap "Wars" with a rhyming word to get a space saga where the Jedi battle for the galaxy's best chocolate treats |
| 45% | SNACK | 5 | "___ to the Future," swap "Back" with a rhyming word to get a sci-fi film where Marty goes back in time to look for munchies |
| 43% | LARDS | 5 | "House of ___," swap "Cards" with a rhyming word to get a political TV show where leaders scheme to rule the nation's fat reserves |
| 42% | FEAST | 5 | "Beauty and the ___," swap "Beast" with a rhyming word to get a fantasy film where Belle must host a lavish banquet |
| 40% | DILL | 4 | "Kill ___: Volume 1," swap "Bill" with a rhyming word to get a martial arts film where the Bride takes her revenge on evil pickles |
| 38% | BREAD | 5 | "The Walking ___," swap "Dead" with a rhyming word to get an apocalyptic TV show where people flee from rising bakery loaves |
| 31% | COMPSCI | 7 | Class where it's best to get with the program, for short? |
| 29% | EROO | 4 | Suffix with switch to get the word for a sudden change |
| 28% | LAST | 4 | "Star Wars: The ___ Jedi," 2017 space opera film starring Mark Hamill, featuring a touching tribute to Carrie Fisher |
| 26% | WRAP | 4 | With 61-Down, "Get a move on!" and an instruction for the answers to the starred clues |
| 25% | GAZELLES | 8 | Would you also like to buy binoculars for your safari to get a better look at the antelopes? |
| 25% | TUG | 3 | ___ of war, sport played with a rope where players pull and try to yank the other team over the line |
| 25% | ISEE | 4 | Words of comprehension, and a phonetic hint for the answers to the starred clues |
| 25% | TWOCANPLAY | 10 | With 28-Down, words to a cheater ... or an honest hint to the answers to starred clues |
| 25% | ENDIN | 5 | Conclude with, and a phonetic hint for the answers to the starred clues |
| 24% | BASSETT | 7 | Angela —, Best Actress in a Leading Role Oscar nominee for What's Love Got to Do With It |
| 24% | EDGEWISE | 8 | One way to get a word in ... and an aural hint to a feature of the starred clues' answers |
| 24% | BERRY | 5 | Word with "Smurf" to mean a red fruit that is a source of nutrition for the Smurfs |
| 24% | PRIME | 5 | The best years of your life, and a word that rhymes with "time" |
| 24% | FOURTEEN | 8 | With 61-Across, what President Wilson proposed for a lasting peace ... or what's missing from the answers to the starred clues |
| 23% | DAVIDBECKHAM | 12 | English soccer star who left a Spanish club to play for the LA Galaxy in 2007: 2 wds. |
| 23% | MAIL | 4 | "You've Got Delivery," change a word to correct the title of a classic romcom starring Tom Hanks |
| 23% | FLY | 3 | *Buzzing pest ... or a word that goes with "trap" to refer to a snare for the said pest |
| 23% | CARDI | 5 | ___ B, hip hop star who became the first female rapper to win a Grammy for Best Rap Album |
| 23% | LALALAND | 8 | 2016 Best Picture (no, wait; it wasn't!) ... and a fitting place for the answers to starred clues? |
| 23% | FLAG | 4 | Word with "ship" to refer to the best or most important thing owned by a company |
| 23% | DANCINGQUEEN | 12 | 39-Down song with the lyrics "Where they play the right music, getting in the swing / You come to look for a king" |
| 23% | APTAGRAM | 8 | Word or phrase whose letters can be rearranged to form another with a similar meaning, such as “moon starer” for “astronomer” |
| 23% | BACKSPACE | 9 | PC key with a left-pointing arrow ... and hint to the last words of the answers to starred clues |
| 23% | NOT | 3 | Negating word that, if parsed with a space after the second letter, may help to understand nine Across answers |