Klara and the Sun Box Office: Spain Release Pulled as Taika Waititi Hits Back at Critics

Klara and the Sun box office results turned a promising literary adaptation into one of the autumn’s most talked-about cinema setbacks, after Taika Waititi’s film opened in the United States on 23 October 2026 to just over $700,000. The film, based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 novel of the same name, stars Jenna Ortega as Klara, a solar-powered Artificial Friend bought as a companion for a seriously ill teenager, Josie, played by Mia Tharia. Within days, reports said Sony Pictures had pulled the planned Spanish theatrical release, and on 30 October Waititi himself answered his critics on Instagram.

The story matters beyond one weekend’s takings because of the gap between the film’s pedigree and its reception. Waititi, an Academy Award winner for Jojo Rabbit, directed and co-wrote the adaptation with Dahvi Waller, and the cast also includes Amy Adams as Josie’s mother Chrissie, plus Steve Buscemi, Natasha Lyonne, Aran Murphy and Rachel House. A Nobel laureate’s novel, an acclaimed director and a recognisable cast would normally promise a wide release, yet Sony scaled the film back before it even opened.

How Klara and the Sun reached cinemas after a long wait

Klara and the Sun had its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on 15 October 2026, then opened in the United States and the United Kingdom on 23 October through Sony Pictures Releasing. The film runs 116 minutes and carries a PG-13 rating in the United States. Reports, including Deadline coverage cited across the trade press, said Sony had held the film for about two years while deciding how to release it.

That long hold helps explain the cautious rollout. Screen Rant reported that Sony had originally planned a wide release of more than 2,000 theatres before cutting back to 880 after poor early reviews. The film therefore arrived with a smaller footprint than its budget and cast might suggest, and its opening weekend had far less room to recover from a weak start.

Why the Spain release became the next headline

After the weak opening, Spanish publication Hobby Consolas reported that Sony had scrapped the film’s planned Spanish theatrical release, with other European markets reportedly possibly to follow. Screen Rant and other outlets carried that report, saying the decision was driven by poor reviews and low commercial expectations in the region, with the studio hoping to minimise losses. No replacement Spanish release date had been announced at the time of writing, and the cancellation is reported here as reported, not as a confirmed Sony statement in its own words.

The Spain story landed because it turned a domestic disappointment into an international retreat. A film that opens in 880 theatres and averages under $800 per theatre is already struggling to justify its marketing spend. Removing a whole territory from the release calendar signals that the studio no longer expects theatrical revenue there to outweigh the cost of putting the film out.

What the critic and audience scores actually show

The sharpest split in the whole episode is between critics and audiences. Reports put the Rotten Tomatoes critic score at roughly 25–28%, with several one-star reviews in the British press, including The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw calling the film unbearably mannered and The Times awarding one star. The audience score, by contrast, sat at roughly 75–78% in the same reports, a gap of about 50 points.

That gap is the heart of Waititi’s response. On Instagram on 30 October, he shared the film’s poster alongside its audience score and wrote that he had not read a review aimed at him or his peers in almost 15 years, but that he does listen to audiences. TheWrap reported that Waititi called his critics “irrelevant”, “out of touch” and “obsolete”, adding that the same critics had also disliked Jojo Rabbit. The post, published on Saturday 1 November coverage, quickly became the second act of the story.

What this means for Sony and for literary adaptations

For Sony, the arithmetic is unforgiving even at the lower reported budget figure. A film reported to cost about $20 million that takes just over $700,000 in its domestic opening weekend, and about $1.07 million domestically by the end of its first week, needs streaming, video-on-demand and other post-theatrical revenue to have any chance of breaking even. Trade coverage has put a break-even point at roughly $40–50 million in theatrical terms, a figure this release will not approach on its current trajectory.

For literary adaptations, the lesson is narrower. Ishiguro’s novel is narrated by Klara herself, and its power rests on quiet observation and a child’s view of mortality, love and what makes a person irreplaceable. Critics who disliked the film largely argued that Waititi’s whimsical, sentimental approach flattened that restraint, while audiences who liked it appear to have responded to exactly that warmth. Amy Yasbeck’s reflections on loss and family, published on this site, show how differently audiences and critics can receive a story about grief, and Klara and the Sun sits in that same contested space between a beloved source and a divisive screen version.

Frequently asked questions about Klara and the Sun box office

How much did Klara and the Sun make on its opening weekend? Just over $700,000 in the United States, from 880 theatres, averaging roughly $797 per theatre. Some reports round the figure to $725,000; the difference reflects rounding and reporting dates, not a different weekend.

Has the Spain release really been cancelled? Spanish publication Hobby Consolas reported that Sony scrapped the planned Spanish theatrical release, and Screen Rant, Collider and other outlets carried that report. No replacement date had been announced at the time of writing, and Sony’s own wording was not quoted in those reports.

What did Taika Waititi say about the critics? On Instagram on 30 October 2026, Waititi shared the film’s Rotten Tomatoes audience score, said he had not read reviews aimed at him or his peers in almost 15 years, and called his critics “irrelevant”, “out of touch” and “obsolete”. He also noted that the same critics had disliked Jojo Rabbit.

Why is the audience score so much higher than the critic score? At the time of writing, reports put the critic score at about 25–28% and the audience score at about 75–78%. The gap suggests general viewers responded more warmly to the film’s sentiment and to Ortega’s performance than professional critics, who largely found the adaptation too mannered and sentimental.

Will Klara and the Sun still make money? On theatrical revenue alone, no, on its current trajectory. Its only realistic route to recovery is post-theatrical revenue from streaming and video-on-demand, plus any territories where it still receives a release. No streaming date had been announced at the time of writing.

Myth-busting: The film was not pulled from every cinema worldwide, and its poor opening does not mean audiences hated it. It was scaled back before opening, its Spanish release was reportedly pulled, and its audience score remained far above its critic score — a split reception, not a unanimous rejection.