Jenna Ortega's Klara And The Sun Movie Set An Unwanted Box Office Record

Things have gone from bad to worse for "Klara and the Sun." Fronted by "Wednesday" star Jenna Ortega and hailing from "Thor: Ragnarok" director Taika Waititi, it's been nothing shy of a crushing disappointment for all involved. Now, the movie has etched its way into the box office history books, but in a very unfortunate way.

Hailing from Sony Pictures, "Klara and the Sun" flopped at the box office on its opening weekend, pulling in just $701,000 in its debut against a $20 million budget. That was bad enough, but in its second weekend, the sci-fi flick dropped a staggering 93.6%, taking in just $45,000 on 880 screens. That means it averaged just $51 per screen. This is just about as bad as it gets for a movie from high-profile filmmakers in Hollywood.

With that, Waititi's latest has etched its way into the history books. This represents the biggest second weekend drop of all time for a new release narrative feature film. The only movie to ever have a worse second weekend drop was the concert film "Stray Kids: The Dominate Experience" (94.9%) earlier this year, according to Box Office Mojo. Concert films are generally more niche and front-loaded. A would-be awards season play like "Klara and the Sun" is designed to hopefully pick up steam, not drop like a rock.

The movie is based on the acclaimed 2021 novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. It focuses on Klara (Ortega), an Artificial Friend who meets a girl named Josie (Mia Tharia). Klara's innocent wonder and loyalty begin to heal Josie's family and bring light to her complicated world. Waititi recently slammed critics after "Klara and the Sun" flopped, taking it all very personally.

There's nothing for Taika Waititi to be happy about. His new movie has made less than $2 million worldwide and is pretty much dead in the water at this point, despite the promising source material and a cast that includes Amy Adams, one of the best actors who has never won an Oscar (though she's been nominated several times). Waititi is also an Oscar winner himself, winning Best Original Screenplay for "Jojo Rabbit."

It doesn't matter at the moment that Waititi directed one of Marvel's most beloved hits, "Thor: Ragnarok" ($855 million worldwide). It doesn't matter that "Thor: Love and Thunder" ($761 million) was also a big hit despite not being as well-liked, broadly speaking. In a "what have you done for me lately?" business, Waititi is floundering. It certainly doesn't help that Waititi's "Next Goal Wins" was also a box office bomb in 2023, even though it was a low stakes one with a low budget.

Jenna Ortega evolved from Disney princess to scream queen, becoming one of Hollywood's most in-demand A-list stars. Right or wrong, she's had enough success in recent years that this probably won't ding her reputation too much. She's also not out there publicly decrying critics for not liking the movie. Waititi, through his own doing, is ensuring that he's going to shoulder the blame.

Big box office flops can put creators in director's jail. This is a lower budget movie, but still, Waititi's on a cold streak and it's very possible that he's either headed for director's jail or is already in it.

"Klara and the Sun" is still in theaters now, but probably won't be for much longer.