Taika Waititi calls critics 'sad lost souls' over Klara and the Sun panning
The director attacked reviewers on Instagram after his adaptation earned a 26% Rotten Tomatoes score and weak box office.
What to know
- Taika Waititi publicly attacked film critics as "sad lost souls" and "irrelevant" after his film "Klara and the Sun" earned a 26% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics.
- The film has underperformed at the box office with only $1.067 million domestically in its opening weekend, prompting Sony to scale back its international release.
- Despite poor critical reviews, the film maintains a 75% audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, suggesting a critic-audience divide.
- Waititi claimed he hasn't read reviews of his work in 15 years but does listen to audiences, positioning audience preference against critical consensus.
“We only break out the expression 'emotionally manipulative' if the filmmaking is so clumsy that the manipulation doesn't work.”
William Bibbiani, Critic, TheWrap · The Wrap ↗
Taika Waititi Director and screenwriter
Jenna Ortega ActorAmy Adams ActorWilliam Bibbiani TheWrap critic
How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts
-
1
Waititi attacks critics as failed artists on Instagram
The director posted on Instagram Saturday calling critics "sad lost souls who couldn't achieve their dreams of becoming artists," and labeled them "irrelevant," "out of touch," and "obsolete." He also stated he hasn't read reviews in 15 years but listens to audiences.
“This Halloween, let's spare a thought for those sad lost souls who couldn't achieve their dreams of becoming artists, and thus became critics.”
— Taika Waititi -
first by Dark Horizons, 12d ago · also Variety, The Independent, Far Out Magazine, AV Club, IMDb, The Hollywood Reporter +9
13 more headlines
- Taika Waititi Slams ‘Klara and the Sun’ Critics as ‘Irrelevant,’ ‘Sad Lost Souls’ and Says He Hasn’t ‘Read a Review’ in 15 Years: ‘But I Do Listen to the People’ Variety · 12d ago
- Taika Waititi calls Klara and the Sun critics ‘failed artists’ after poor reviews The Independent · 11d ago
- Taika Waititi lashes out at critics following scathing ‘Klara and the Sun’ reviews Far Out Magazine · 11d ago
- Taika Waititi says critics who dislike Klara And The Sun are just "sad lost souls" AV Club · 11d ago
- ‘Klara and the Sun’ Director Taika Waititi Calls Critics “Sad Lost Souls” Over Negative Reviews IMDb · 11d ago
- Taika Waititi Mocks ‘Klara and the Sun’ Critics as Failed Artists: ‘Sad Lost Souls’ Yahoo · 11d ago
- Taika Waititi Blasts Critics as 'Irrelevant, Out of Touch, Obsolete' Following Klara and the Sun's Negative Reviews IGN · 11d ago
- ‘Sad lost souls’: Taika Waititi lambasts critics after Klara and the Sun box-office disaster Guardian Culture · 10d ago
- Taika Waititi Labels Critics Of 'Klara And The Sun' As 'Irrelevant' Following Negative Reviews zoomtventertainment.com · 10d ago
- Taika Waititi slams "irrelevant" critics as "sad lost souls" after new movie Klara and the Sun debuts to 24% Rotten Tomatoes score GamesRadar+ · 10d ago
- Klara and the Sun Short-Circuits as Its Director, Taika Waititi, Tries Roasting Critics Yahoo · 10d ago
- Taika Waititi Slams Film Critics as ‘Lost Souls’ After Klara and the Sun Bombs at the Box Office amid Negative Reviews People.com · 10d ago
- Taika Waititi blasts ‘out of touch’ critics over scathing Klara and the Sun reviews NT News · 9d ago
-
5 outlets Taika Waititi Calls Out His ‘Klara and the Sun’ Critics: ‘Irrelevant, Out of Touch, Obsolete’
first by The Wrap, 12d ago · also Deadline, Entertainment Weekly, JoBlo, Yahoo
4 more headlines
- Taika Waititi Calls ‘Klara and the Sun’ Critics “Irrelevant, Out Of Touch, Obsolete” Deadline · 12d ago
- Taika Waititi slams bad reviews of ‘Klara and the Sun’ as ‘irrelevant’ and ‘out of touch’ Entertainment Weekly · 11d ago
- Taika Waititi Slams Critics Over Klara and the Sun Flop: “Irrelevant. Out of Touch. Obsolete.” JoBlo · 11d ago
- Taika Waititi slams bad reviews of latest movie as ‘irrelevant,’ out of touch,’ ‘obsolete’ Yahoo · 11d ago
-
If it a comedy take on a profoundly philosophical book it does matter. A lot. If someone made The Grapes of Wrath as a Mr Bean type movie it would be rightly panned no matter how successful a Mr Bean type move it might have been underneath.
2 more of the top 3 · 9 posts in this stretch
-
Penny Arcade joked about this all the way back in 2004 when Kevin Smith's film Jersey Girl got panned, and he deflected it by saying that the movie "wasn't for critics". It was a childish response then, and it's a childish response now.
-
I also think Taika Waititi's downfall is distracting from how bad this is for Jenna Ortega too. It was only a couple of years ago she was being positioned as the next big thing but it's been nothing but misses for her since then.
-
-
background
Sony scales back international release following weak domestic performance — Following the film's poor box office showing ($823 per theater average domestically), Sony Pictures Releasing reportedly reduced the scope of the film's international rollout.
-
background
Klara and the Sun releases in US to negative reviews — The film, directed by Taika Waititi and starring Jenna Ortega and Amy Adams, opened in theaters with a 26% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, despite a 75% audience approval rating. The film earned $1.067 million domestically in its opening weekend.
What people are saying 6 voices from 1 site · best of 9 · verbatim
- Nov 2
-
Good adaptations are covers (in the musical use) of the original. This tried to change the song to something else.
-
He has been divorced from his caliber of criticism. Now he is working with less challenging editors.
-
I haven’t seen the movie. But it’s very unfortunate timing for a movie about “accepting AI” while it and data centres and tech bros are destroy the world. That’s why I wouldn’t personally go out to see it.
-
He got divorced around that time. Seen a lot of speculation that his (now ex) wife was a big part of his good movies. Maybe putting the brakes on his worst impulses.
-
Ooh, doubling down, classic! Let's see if it actually makes someone look better for once. /s
-
It’s also terrible argument because criticism is an art from itself and if your argument got thoroughly refuted by Oscar Wilde in 1891 you might want to come up with a fresher defense (like not saying anything).