Taika Waititi watches his $44m film Klara and the Sun bomb at the box office. Then he lashes out at reviewers: ‘Sad lost souls’
Sore loser?
Taika Waititi is publicly lashing out at film reviewers following the dismal box office performance of his latest project, Klara and the Sun. The director put out an Instagram post to share his frustrations, calling those who write negative assessments of his work “sad lost souls” who are “irrelevant” and “obsolete.” This reaction comes as the $44m film struggles to find an audience in theaters, recording a significantly lower financial return than expected.
According to The Guardian, the film, which is an adaptation of a Kazuo Ishiguro novel, premiered with a very quiet opening in North America. It brought in roughly $701,000 across 880 venues during its first weekend. This performance left it in 16th place at the box office. The numbers were even worse in the U.K., where it earned £176,000 from 368 locations.
By the second weekend in North America, the film saw a major drop of 79%, earning only $145,000. These figures stand in stark contrast to other recent releases. For example, You Can See Everything, which focuses on Elizabeth Holmes, managed to pull in $18.7m during its second weekend.
Waititi seems to be focusing on the divide between professional critics and general audiences
The filmmaker from New Zealand highlighted the disparity on Rotten Tomatoes, where his film holds a 26% critic score compared to a 74% audience score. In his Instagram post, he stated, “I haven’t read a review of anything aimed at me or my peers in almost 15 years. But I do listen to the people.” He further remarked, “This Halloween, let’s spare a thought for those sad lost souls who couldn’t achieve their dreams of becoming artists, and thus settled, and became critics.”
The director clearly feels that these professional reviewers are out of touch with what the public actually wants to see. He even referenced his 2019 film Jojo Rabbit as another project that faced similar criticism from the same group of people. According to Waititi, these critics are “irrelevant” and belong “in the bin.”
The reviews themselves have been quite harsh. The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw labeled the film as “unbearably mannered” and “unspeakably acted” in a one-star review. He also described it as “soft-centred sci-fi-lite” that asks the audience to laugh at unfunny humor. Wendy Ide, writing for the Observer, described the movie as “a thin and cloying thing” that lacks the depth of the original book. Tim Grierson from the LA Times said the film feels “calculated” and “stifling.”
Ortega has said she avoids reading reviews herself
The movie features Jenna Ortega as an android companion who tries to connect with a sick young girl named Josie. Despite the intense criticism, Ortega has publicly stated that she avoids reading reviews herself, per Variety. She told Vogue Magazine that she avoids checking them to prevent herself from experiencing a “psychosis of some sort.” She also avoids looking at box office updates, noting that she does not want her work to become a “numbers thing.”
It is interesting to observe how different creators handle negative feedback. Some choose to ignore it entirely, while others, like Waititi, use social media to voice their disdain for the industry. The financial reality for Klara and the Sun is undeniably difficult. With a budget of $44m, the current box office totals are nowhere near what the production likely needed to break even. Sony reportedly scaled back the theatrical footprint after the initial negative reception.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
Follow The Mary Sue:
