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Taika Waititi dismisses critics after poor reviews for Klara and the Sun

Developing story first seen 2 hours ago

The Hollywood Reporter · 2 hours ago

Taika Waititi has publicly dismissed negative reviews of *Klara and the Sun*, calling critics “sad lost souls” in an Instagram post. He highlighted the contrast between the film’s 78 per cent audience score and 28 per cent critics score, saying he listens to audiences rather than reviews.

The film opened in 880 North American cinemas last week, earning an estimated $725,000 over its opening weekend and debuting outside the top 10; its worldwide gross was about $1.7 million at the time of publication. Adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 novel, it stars Jenna Ortega and Amy Adams and follows an android companion who tries to bond with a young girl dealing with an illness. Waititi has also said he wants AI to be used as a tool in the film industry, not as a replacement for people.

Sources: 2
Outlets: 2
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In short

Waititi has attacked critics of *Klara and the Sun*.
Audience and critics scores stand at 78 and 28 per cent.
The film opened to an estimated $725,000 in North America.

How this story developed

44 minutes ago Waititi’s remarks were reported again, with no new development; the film’s premise was described as the android bonding with a seriously ill girl, and his position on AI was framed as a tool for film workers rather than a replacement.
51 minutes ago Taika Waititi publicly rebuffed poor reviews of Klara and the Sun, calling critics “sad lost souls” and citing its 78 per cent audience score against 28 per cent from critics as he said he listens to viewers; the film opened in 880 North American cinemas to an estimated $725,000 weekend, outside the top 10, with a worldwide gross of about $1.7 million, and stars Jenna Ortega and Amy Adams in an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel about an android companion and an ill young girl.

Full account

Taika Waititi has responded to the poor critical reception of *Klara and the Sun*, highlighting the gap between reviewers’ and viewers’ scores. In an Instagram post on Saturday, he shared the film’s poster, which showed a 78 per cent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes against a critics’ score reported at 28 per cent in one account and 26 per cent in another. The audience figure had since fallen to 73 per cent, according to one report.

Waititi said he had not read reviews of work aimed at him or his peers for nearly 15 years, adding that he paid attention to audiences. He went on to describe critics who disliked the film as people who had failed to become artists, and cited negative responses to his earlier film *Jojo Rabbit*. He called the critics “irrelevant”, “out of touch” and “obsolete”.

The film opened in North America the previous weekend across 880 cinemas, debuting outside the top ten. Reports put its domestic opening at either about $701,000 or $725,000, while one said worldwide takings had reached roughly $1.7 million at the time of publication. One outlet also reported that Sony reduced the planned wide release to 880 US cinemas after negative reactions at the BFI. A separate account noted a reported production budget of $20 million.

Adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 novel, the film is set in a future where an android companion, Klara, seeks to bond with Josie, a seriously ill young person. Jenna Ortega plays Klara; the reports differ on Josie’s age and family circumstances, and on the listed cast: one names Amy Adams, while another identifies Mia Tharia as Josie. The first report also recalls Waititi’s comments that AI should be used as a tool by people in the film industry, rather than as a replacement for them.

Where outlets differ

From the full account, which is AI-written from the sources:

The reports give different Rotten Tomatoes critics’ scores: 28 per cent in Source 1 and 26 per cent in Source 2. Source 2 says the audience score later moved from 78 to 73 per cent.

They report opening weekend domestic grosses of approximately $725,000 and $701,000 respectively. Only Source 1 gives a worldwide total of about $1.7 million; Source 2 highlights the reported $20 million budget and says the film opened in 880 US cinemas after Sony cut its wider release.

Source 1 describes Josie as a young girl dealing with an illness and lists Amy Adams among the stars. Source 2 calls Josie a gravely ill teenager, names Mia Tharia in the role and adds that the family is grieving her older sister. The sources may be referring to different cast members, but do not explain the distinction.

Source 1 includes Waititi’s comments about AI as a tool rather than a substitute for human workers. Source 2 instead foregrounds a negative review excerpt and audience comments critical of Waititi.

Steelman: both sides, in good faith

The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.

The case for

A director can reasonably argue that audience response is a meaningful measure of whether a film connects with the people it was made for, and that a large gap between audience and critics’ scores deserves attention. Waititi’s frustration may reflect a belief that critics’ judgements should not outweigh viewers’ own experience or define a film’s worth.

The case against

Critics can reasonably argue that their role is to assess a film’s craft, adaptation choices and artistic risks, not simply whether it pleases audiences. Dismissing reviewers as “sad lost souls” may shut down substantive debate and imply that unfavourable criticism is less legitimate, while the score gap alone does not show that critics have judged the film unfairly.

Explained simply

Klara and the Sun is based on a 2021 novel by British author Kazuo Ishiguro. The story follows an android companion who forms a bond with a seriously ill young girl; Jenna Ortega and Amy Adams star in the film adaptation.

Taika Waititi is a New Zealand filmmaker whose work includes films and television comedies. The film also touches on artificial intelligence, a subject Waititi has described as a tool for people working in the film industry.