World news and discussion on TalkFuse.
Taika Waititi attacks critics as Klara and the Sun struggles at box office
Taika Waititi has criticised film reviewers after *Klara and the Sun*, his adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, opened to very low box-office returns. He called critics “irrelevant” and “obsolete”, arguing that audience ratings matter more to him; the dispute highlights the gap between viewers’ and critics’ responses as the film struggles commercially.
The film reportedly cost $44m (£32.8m) to make but earned $701,000 in its first North American weekend across 880 cinemas, then fell 79% to $145,000 in its second weekend. Its Rotten Tomatoes audience score was 74%, compared with 26% from 90 critics’ reviews. In the UK, it opened with £176,000 across 368 venues.
In short
- Waititi attacked critics after his film opened poorly.
- The film cost $44m and made $701,000 in its first North American weekend.
- Audience and critics’ Rotten Tomatoes scores differed sharply.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Waititi’s view is that critics’ judgements are only one measure of a film’s value, and that audience responses better reflect whether it connects with the people it was made for. The audience score suggests some viewers appreciated the film despite poor reviews, so he may see critics’ influence as overstated or out of step with public taste.
The case against
Critics can offer informed assessment and help audiences decide how to spend their time and money; dismissing them as obsolete risks shutting down useful scrutiny. The sharp box-office decline does not prove reviews caused the film’s poor performance, but the gap between the critics’ and audience scores also shows why neither measure alone settles how well the film worked.
Explained simply
Taika Waititi is a film-maker known for directing and acting in films including Jojo Rabbit and Thor: Ragnarok. Klara and the Sun is his adaptation of a novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, a British novelist who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Film reviewers assess films and publish criticism, while audience ratings reflect viewers’ own responses. The two can differ, and box-office figures measure ticket sales rather than whether a film is liked.
The story draws attention to how critics’ views, audience reactions and commercial performance can point in different directions. These measures matter to film-makers, studios and cinemas when they consider a film’s reception and prospects.
Americas Culture Entertainment Film Geopolitics Politics World
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by The Guardian as “‘Sad lost souls’: Taika Waititi lambasts critics after Klara and the Sun box-office disaster”.