Taika Waititi has defended his latest film, “Klara and the Sun,” on Instagram following unfavorable reviews and a weak box office opening. In a post featuring the movie’s poster, the director drew attention to its 78% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and dismissed the critics who had responded negatively to the release.
The audience rating contrasts with a 28% score from critics on the same platform, the lowest critical score yet for the “Jojo Rabbit” filmmaker. Waititi’s post focused on that divide, presenting the audience response alongside a caption in which he said he had long avoided reading reviews of work by himself or his peers.
“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,” Waititi wrote. His Halloween message went on to portray critics as people whose ambitions to become artists had gone unfulfilled, calling them “sad lost souls.” He also linked his criticism to the reception of an earlier film, referring to critics as “the same people who also hated Jojo Rabbit.”
Waititi ended his attack with a series of dismissals: “Irrelevant. Out of touch. Obsolete. In the bin.” The remarks accompanied his defense of a movie whose initial theatrical performance, as well as its critical reception, has been poor.
“Klara and the Sun” opened in theaters the weekend before October 31, placing No. 15 with $720,000 from 880 locations. Sony subsequently reduced the film’s theatrical footprint after reviews sharply criticized the movie. The opening figures and reduced release added to the difficulties surrounding Waititi’s latest directorial project.
Jenna Ortega, who plays the android Klara, has also discussed avoiding reviews. In a recent Vogue interview, she said reading assessments of her films “would send me into a psychosis of some sort.” Ortega said she also does not check box office updates sent by her team, explaining, “I don’t want it to become a numbers thing.”
Adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 novel, the film unfolds in a dystopian future. Ortega’s character is an obsolete companion android attempting to form a bond with her new owner, Josie, a young girl who is ill.
