The Klara and the Sun box office opening has started well below expectations for a wide studio release. According to Deadline reporting cited by Collider, ComingSoon and SuperHeroHype on October 23 and 24, 2026, Taika Waititi’s science-fiction drama is heading for an estimated weekend of about $725,000, under $1 million, after Sony Pictures scaled back its launch.

Klara and the Sun opened in theaters on October 23, 2026. According to the reports, Sony reduced the release from a planned wide launch of nearly 2,000 theaters to roughly 850 to 880 locations after poor reviews. The film earned about $85,000 in Thursday previews across 782 locations and about $300,000 on Friday from 880 theaters, according to the reported estimates. Those figures are estimates and projections, and final actuals will arrive later, so the weekend total should not yet be treated as a final verdict.

Klara and the Sun Box Office: A Scaled-Back Opening Weekend

According to the reports, the decision to cut the theater count came after the film’s critical reception. Klara and the Sun holds a Rotten Tomatoes score of about 24 to 25 percent, according to reports, with a Metacritic score reported at 23 to 27. Those scores were reported as of October 23 and 24 and may shift as more reviews are published.

The film is based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 novel about a robot companion to a sick girl. In the film, Jenna Ortega plays Klara, a solar-powered android, alongside Amy Adams, Mia Tharia, Aran Murphy, Steve Buscemi and Natasha Lyonne. The story centers on Klara’s relationship with Josie, the sick girl she is bought to accompany, according to the reported synopsis.

The reported budget adds to the pressure on the opening. According to reports, the budget has been reported as high as $40 million, although that figure is unconfirmed in the sense that studios do not always publicly confirm production costs, and the reported number should be read as a reported estimate rather than an official studio disclosure. Against that reported figure, an estimated weekend of about $725,000 would represent a very soft start, but again, the weekend number itself remains an estimate pending final actuals.

Klara and the Sun Box Office in Context: Reviews and Waititi’s Track Record

The critical response has been unusually harsh. According to reports, The Hollywood Reporter’s chief film critic David Rooney called the film a “wretched mess,” a verdict attributed to THR via the reports. The film premiered at the BFI London Film Festival to overwhelmingly negative reviews, according to reports, including several one-star reviews from major UK newspapers, as summarized by Newswav.

Rotten Tomatoes’ consensus for the film, as attributed to Rotten Tomatoes in the reports, reads: “Flattening the nuanced ideas of its acclaimed source material with a tonally broad approach, Klara and the Sun aims to be endearing and inspiring but winds up being cloying and twee.” That consensus summarizes the critical view rather than audience reaction, and it reflects the reviews counted at the time of reporting.

A Contrast With Earlier Waititi Films

The soft opening stands in contrast to director Taika Waititi’s earlier commercial results, according to the reports. His Jojo Rabbit grossed $33 million domestically in 2019, according to box-office reporting cited in the coverage. His Next Goal Wins opened to $2.5 million, according to box-office forecaster Todd M. Thatcher as cited in the reports.

Those comparisons are not like-for-like. Jojo Rabbit built its audience over a platform release and awards-season run, while Next Goal Wins and Klara and the Sun faced different release strategies, theater counts and critical receptions. Still, the contrast helps explain why an estimated sub-$1 million opening for a film starring Jenna Ortega, one of the most in-demand young actors in Hollywood, has drawn attention.

Why Sony Scaled Back the Release

According to the reports, the reduction from nearly 2,000 planned theaters to roughly 850 to 880 locations followed poor reviews. Studios sometimes narrow a release when early critical response suggests a wide launch would not be supported by audience demand, choosing instead to limit marketing and screen costs. The reports do not attribute a specific on-the-record explanation from Sony beyond the reported sequence of events, so the precise internal reasoning remains unconfirmed.

A scaled-back release also changes how a film’s numbers should be read. A film in 880 theaters will almost always gross less in absolute terms than the same film in 2,000 theaters, because fewer screens means fewer available showtimes. That does not erase the softness of the per-theater result, but it is part of the context for the estimated $725,000 weekend projection.

What Happens Next

For now, the most accurate description is a soft opening based on estimates, not a final box-office verdict. Final actuals, second-weekend holds and any international or streaming performance will give a fuller picture over time. Films that open softly can occasionally find a second life elsewhere, but the combination of a scaled-back release, low critical scores as reported and an estimated opening under $1 million makes a major theatrical recovery unlikely on the evidence reported so far.

It is also worth noting what the reports do not yet establish. They do not provide a confirmed final weekend total, a confirmed official budget from Sony, or confirmed long-term plans for the film’s release beyond the reported scaled-back launch. Those details, if they emerge, should be attributed to their sources when reported.

Related reading: our earlier coverage of the Klara and the Sun premiere red carpet.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much did Klara and the Sun make on its opening weekend?

According to estimates reported on October 23 and 24, 2026, Klara and the Sun is heading for an estimated weekend of about $725,000, after about $85,000 in Thursday previews and about $300,000 on Friday. Those are estimates, and final actuals are pending.

Why was Klara and the Sun’s release scaled back?

According to reports, Sony Pictures reduced the launch from a planned wide release of nearly 2,000 theaters to roughly 850 to 880 locations after poor reviews. The precise internal reasoning has not been publicly confirmed beyond that reported sequence.

Who stars in Klara and the Sun?

Jenna Ortega stars as Klara, a solar-powered android, alongside Amy Adams, Mia Tharia, Aran Murphy, Steve Buscemi and Natasha Lyonne. The film was directed by Taika Waititi and is based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 novel.

What did critics say about Klara and the Sun?

According to reports, the film holds about 24 to 25 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and 23 to 27 on Metacritic. The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney called it a “wretched mess,” according to THR via the reports, and Rotten Tomatoes’ consensus describes it as “cloying and twee.”

For more on the scaled-back launch, see Collider’s report on Klara and the Sun’s limited theatrical run.