Taika Waititi's highly anticipated adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's "Klara and the Sun" opened to a disastrous $725,000 on 880 screens over the weekend, giving the sci-fi drama one of the worst per-screen averages of the year at just $824.

The Sony Pictures release, which stars Jenna Ortega in the title role as an artificial friend navigating a near-future society, was positioned as an awards contender and a showcase for Waititi's ability to tackle literary material. Instead, it became the latest example of a prestige film finding no audience in theaters, raising fresh questions about whether adult-oriented dramas can survive outside the streaming ecosystem.

The opening weekend take ranks among the weakest debuts for a wide release in 2026 and marks a stunning reversal for Waititi, whose previous films "Jojo Rabbit" and "Thor: Love and Thunder" demonstrated commercial and critical appeal. "Klara and the Sun" opened on 880 screens, a mid-level release strategy that suggested Sony hoped for strong word-of-mouth to drive expansion. Instead, the tepid debut virtually guarantees the film will be pulled from most theaters within a week.

Critics and Audiences Both Stay Away

SlashFilm called the opening numbers "lousy" and noted that the film's failure appeared to reflect both weak reviews and a lack of audience interest in a slow-paced, cerebral sci-fi drama. Critics who saw advance screenings praised Ortega's performance but found the film overly sentimental and too faithful to Ishiguro's melancholy source material, which explores themes of obsolescence, love, and what it means to be human through the eyes of a solar-powered AI companion.

Deadline Hollywood reported that exit polls showed older audiences (over 45) made up the bulk of the limited crowds who did turn out, with younger viewers almost entirely absent. That demographic skew suggests the film's premise — a literary adaptation about an aging child and her robot friend — failed to connect with the teens and twentysomethings who typically drive opening weekend box office.

Sony had positioned "Klara and the Sun" as a potential Oscar contender, hoping to repeat the success of other literary adaptations that found awards-season audiences despite modest theatrical runs. But the opening weekend numbers are so weak that the studio may struggle to keep the film in theaters long enough to build the kind of momentum that drives Academy consideration.

Waititi's Ambitious Gamble Falls Flat

For Waititi, the failure represents a rare misstep in a career defined by quirky hits that balance heart and humor. "Thor: Ragnarok" revitalized Marvel's Thor franchise in 2017, "Jojo Rabbit" earned six Oscar nominations including Best Picture in 2020, and "Thor: Love and Thunder" grossed more than $760 million worldwide in 2022 despite mixed reviews.

"Klara and the Sun" marked Waititi's first attempt at a straight literary adaptation, and the results suggest his sensibility works better when he is adapting his own scripts or working within genre frameworks that allow for tonal shifts. Ishiguro's novel is quietly devastating and deeply interior, qualities that do not naturally lend themselves to Waititi's visual style or comedic instincts.

The director reportedly fought to preserve the novel's emotional core even as studio executives pushed for a more accessibly sentimental edit. Early test screenings were described as polarizing, with some audiences moved to tears and others bored by the deliberate pacing. The final cut appears to have pleased no one, leaving "Klara and the Sun" stranded between arthouse minimalism and mainstream accessibility.

Streaming Future Looms

Sony has not announced a streaming release date, but industry observers expect "Klara and the Sun" to arrive on Netflix or another platform within weeks given the theatrical collapse. The film cost a reported $45 million to produce, a modest budget by studio standards but one that now looks unlikely to be recouped through any combination of theatrical, home video, and international sales.

The opening weekend disaster also raises questions about the future of mid-budget literary adaptations in theaters. Films like "The Goldfinch," "The Nightingale," and "Where the Crawdads Sing" have struggled to find audiences despite strong source material and prestige talent, suggesting that book-to-film adaptations no longer guarantee an automatic theatrical audience the way they did a decade ago.

For Ortega, the film's failure is unlikely to damage her rising star. The "Wednesday" actress has become one of Hollywood's most sought-after young performers, and her work in "Klara and the Sun" has been singled out for praise even by critics who disliked the film overall. She has three more projects set for release in 2027, all of which are expected to draw larger audiences than Waititi's ill-fated literary experiment.

"Klara and the Sun" is now playing in limited release, though the number of theaters is expected to shrink dramatically in the coming week.