Tag: Kazuo Ishiguro

Klara and the Sun Box Office Prediction

Taika Waititi’s latest dramedy is Klara and the Sun and it’s out October 23rd. Based on the Kazuo Ishiguro 2021 novel, Jenna Ortega stars in the sci-fi tale with Amy Adams, Mia Tharia, Aran Murphy, Steve Buscemi, and Natasha Lyonne providing support.

After its premiere at the London Film Festival, negative word-of-mouth start peeking out. Sun now sports a 25% Rotten Tomatoes score with 27 on Metacritic. This will struggle mightily to find an audience. There is little hope this will approach the $33 million domestic gross that greeted the filmmaker’s awards player Jojo Rabbit in 2019.

My forecast puts this in line with Waititi’s 2023 predecessor Next Goal Wins. The soccer tale also whiffed with critics and underperformed with a mere $2.5 million in its opening. I don’t see a compelling argument for Sun eclipsing it.

Klara and the Sun opening weekend prediction: $2.3 million

For my Clayface prediction, click here:

Clayface Box Office Prediction

For my Wildwood prediction, click here:

Wildwood Box Office Prediction

Oscar Predictions: Klara and the Sun

It’s been seven years since Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit was an Academy favorite with an Adapted Screenplay win for the filmmaker and five other noms including Best Picture. His follow-ups have been Thor: Love and Thunder (one of the MCU’s lower rated entries) and soccer flick Next Goal Wins which was met with a shrug.

Klara and the Sun, based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 novel, is his latest. The futuristic sci-fi dramedy stars Jenna Ortega with a supporting cast including Amy Adams, Mia Tharia, Aran Murphy, Steve Buscemi, and Natasha Lyonne. It premiered at the London Film Festival with stateside distribution set for October 23rd.

Critics are taking a dim look at Sun. Rotten Tomatoes is at 27% with Metacritic even worse at 25. Judging from some reviews, this could end up on Worst of 2026 lists. Some write-ups are sparing Ortega from the incoming, but this will not be contending at any awards shows other than perhaps the Razzies. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Oscar Predictions: Living

From a randy aging rock star in Love Actually to Dave Jones in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Bill Nighy has been turning up in notable roles for years. Yet the acclaimed English thespian hasn’t gotten his awards bait role to date. That could change with Living, which has premiered at Sundance over the weekend.

Set in 1950s London, the remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 pic Ikiru casts Nighy as a government worker diagnosed with a terminal illness. Costars include Aimee Lou Wood, Alex Sharp, and Tom Burke. Kazuo Ishiguro, who wrote the source material for 1993’s The Remains of the Day (which nabbed Best Picture and acting noms) is the screenwriter. Initial reviews (under 10 thus far) give it a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score.

For a well-regarded actor of Nighy’s stature, this certainly seems like something that could be catnip for BAFTA voters. Whether the Academy follows suit might be determined by how robust its campaign is and that, of course, remains to be seen in the days and months ahead. My Oscar Predictions posts will continue…