Taika Waititi Blasts Critics as 'Irrelevant, Out of Touch, Obsolete' Following Klara and the Sun's Negative Reviews

Marvel filmmaker Taika Waititi has called critics "sad lost souls who couldn't achieve their dreams" after his latest film, Klara and the Sun, premiered with negative reviews. The director behind projects like Jojo Rabbit and Thor: Love and Thunder unleashed his true feelings in a post on Instagram. Tied to an image shared by ScreenRant earlier this week that reflects audience reception to the live-action book adaptation, Waititi posted an emoji-filled message taking aim at the reviewers who walked away from his new movie unimpressed.

"I haven't read a review of anything aimed at me or my peers in almost 15 years," he said, along with a series of emojis. "But I do listen to the people."

Klara and the Sun's critical reception has struggled in the wake of its October 23, 2026, release date. While Rotten Tomatoes has recorded mostly positive reactions from viewers at 74% favorability, its Tomatometer has sunk to a 'rotten' 26%. Its IMDb Metascore is similarly dire at a negative 30 out of 100 after 27 reviews.

Waititi said he's strayed from reading reviews for years, but that didn't stop him from pointing his 2.8 million Instagram followers to those who didn't enjoy the story his Klara and the Sun was trying to tell. "So, this Halloween, let's spare a thought for those sad lost souls who couldn't achieve their dreams of becoming artists, and thus settled, and became critics. The same people who also hated Jojo Rabbit," he added with a laughing-crying-face and shrug emoji.

Jojo Rabbit is Waititi's 2019 project and his first since turning heads with Thor: Ragnarok in 2017. The writer, director, actor, and producer suggested critics weren't fond of the World War II-era dark comedy, though what negative reaction he's referring to here isn't quite clear.

"Klara and the Sun introduces audiences to Klara (Jenna Ortega), an Artificial Friend who wants nothing more than to find the perfect home," an official description for the film from Sony Pictures said. "When Klara meets Josie (Mia Tharia), each immediately senses a kindred spirit in the other. Josie has a fraught relationship with her mother (Amy Adams) and they’ve suffered great loss, but Klara’s innocent wonder and unwavering loyalty begin to heal the family and bring light to Josie’s complicated world."

While Waititi has had much to say about how critics have responded to Klara and the Sun, the film seems to have struggled to grab the attention of the average moviegoer. According to Box Office Mojo, the movie adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel of the same name has only managed to pull in a dismal 1.7 million worldwide after two weekends in theaters.

Waititi signed off his Instagram post, saying, "Irrelevant. Out of touch. Obsolete. In the bin." He added a trash can emoji, a crying face emoji, and a heart hands emoji.