Don't Look Up director addresses criticisms of the movie

Don't Look Up director Adam McKay has addressed the criticism directed at his movie – released at the end of 2021, the dark comedy divided critics and sparked debate on social media about the handling of its subject matter.

"Comedy is always subjective. Certain people are going to think things are too funny or silly or not care for them so that’s built in," McKay told BBC Radio 4's Today show (via Deadline). "You’re never going to make a movie to appeal to everyone."

The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence as astronomers who discover a comet on a collision course with the Earth. Despite the inevitable catastrophic consequences, they struggle to convince the US government or the media that it's worth taking action.

"The idea behind it was 'How do we get this urgency out there?'" McKay continued. "The science is telling us that the problem is happening right now and it’s far worse than we thought. I felt like laughter was a good way to go because if you’re laughing then you inherently have some perspective."

Netflix recently announced that Don't Look Up was now its second-biggest movie of all time, having been viewed for a total of 321.5 million hours in its first 17 days on the platform. The ensemble cast also includes Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Jonah Hill, and Timothée Chalamet.

Don't Look Up is available to stream on Netflix now. If you've already seen it, check out our list of the upcoming movies to get excited about in 2022 and beyond.