Taika Waititi Defends Klara and the Sun After Box Office Flop
Director Taika Waititi has publicly dismissed critics as 'irrelevant' following the poor reviews and weak box office performance of his sci-fi film 'Klara and the Sun', which has earned just $1.74 million globally.
Taika Waititi's latest film, 'Klara and the Sun', has underperformed at the box office and drawn harsh reviews. The Sony-backed film, starring Jenna Ortega and released on October 22, 2026, earned just under $2 million worldwide against a reported $20 million budget. Its opening weekend in the US brought in $701,059, dropping sharply to $145,000 in its second weekend. The film currently holds a 26 per cent critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes, starkly contrasted by a 78 per cent audience rating. It opened to particularly negative reviews after its premiere at the BFI London Film Festival earlier in October.
Waititi's public response to critics
In response to the criticism, Taika Waititi took to social media to defend his work. He posted an image highlighting the divide between the film's critic and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes. Waititi dismissed critics as irrelevant, out of touch, and obsolete. He stated that he has not read a review aimed at him or his peers in almost fifteen years, but that he does listen to the people. He ended his post by calling critics sad lost souls who failed to achieve their dreams of becoming artists. His final words on the matter were a blunt dismissal: irrelevant, out of touch, obsolete, in the bin.
A pattern of divisive work
This is not the first time Waititi has faced critical backlash. He referenced his 2019 film 'Jojo Rabbit' as another project that was initially hated by some reviewers. That black comedy, in which Waititi played an imaginary version of Adolf Hitler, went on to win the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay. It also maintains an 81 per cent critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating it was overall well-received despite some early controversy.
The story of Klara and the Sun
The film is set in a dystopian future where androids are sold as companions for humans. Jenna Ortega stars as Klara, an Artificial Friend whose life changes when she is bought for Josie, a teenager whose health is failing after a controversial genetic enhancement procedure. Klara strives to understand the human world and the meaning of love, becoming devoted to Josie while handling grief and family tensions.
Another high-profile film facing scrutiny is the monumentally expensive 'Digger', headlined by Tom Cruise. Comedian and podcaster Bill Burr recently came to that film's defense, drawing a parallel to 'The Big Lebowski', a film he cited as an example of a movie that was initially criticized but later beloved. Waititi's final stance remains firm, reiterating that modern film critics are irrelevant, out of touch, obsolete, and belong in the bin.
