Thor Director Taika Waititi Slams Critics After His Jenna Ortega Sci-Fi Movie Flops

Director Taika Waititi isn't too happy with critics of his latest movie, "Klara and the Sun." The filmmaker behind "Thor: Ragnarok" and "Jojo Rabbit" recently took to social media to share his thoughts on the matter after his sci-fi movie starring Jenna Ortega flopped at the box office.

Posting on Instagram, Waititi shared a screenshot of a Screen Rant article highlighting the movie's audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, which sits at a decent 74%. The problem? It holds a lousy 24% critical approval rating. It's those critics that Waititi took issue with, writing:

"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. 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.' Irrelevant. Out of touch. Obsolete. In the bin."

"Klara and the Sun" is based on the 2021 book of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro. It centers on Klara (Ortega), an Artificial Friend who meets Josie (Mia Tharia) and begins to heal her family, bringing light into the latter's complicated world with her innocent wonder and unwavering loyalty. For most critics, though, Waititi's movie failed to live up to the potential that existed on the page in Ishiguro's novel.

However, that wasn't at all the case with 2019's "Jojo Rabbit," despite what Waititi implied in his post. On the contrary, that movie was generally well-liked and became one of the big winners at the 2020 Oscars, taking home the Best Adapted Screenplay prize (on top of being nominated for Best Picture). It was a hit in theaters, too, bringing in $90 million against a $14 million budget.

It's one thing for a filmmaker like Taika Waititi to be disappointed that a movie didn't perform well. Indeed, "Klara and the Sun" hasn't even made $2 million at the box office against a $20 million budget. It's not an expensive movie, but with a cast that includes "Wednesday" star Jenna Ortega and Oscar-nominee Amy Adams, Sony Pictures had much higher expectations.

Recall that Waititi was on top of the world after "Thor: Ragnarok" saved a "dying" Chris Hemsworth, becoming a huge hit and reviving the "Thor" franchise within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Waititi's sequel, "Thor: Love and Thunder," was also a success, but its reception was far less warm. Sadly, it's been a downhill slide since then, with Waititi's "Next Goal Wins" becoming a box office bomb in 2023.

That said, this is far from the first time that a high-profile filmmaker has taken aim at critics. "Gods of Egypt" director Alex Proyas really hates film critics, but he hasn't had a meaningful hit in some time. Elsewhere, "Clerks" director Kevin Smith rather publicly took aim at critics in the 2010s. Smith later made peace with movie critics, but it was a much-discussed issue at the time. It happens, but it's rarely a great look for the director doing the complaining.

The issue is that critics can slightly help a movie, but they rarely move the needle all that much in terms of selling tickets. If critical opinion mattered more, a great many acclaimed films would make a lot more money. But that's not the reality we live in. Either way, Waititi has big feelings about all of this, which he's opted to air out in public.

"Klara and the Sun" is in theaters now.