“Ruby Gillman” focuses on a shy teenager who discovers that she’s part of a legendary royal lineage of mythical sea krakens. It also boasts an A-list cast that includes the likes of Lana Condor (“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”), Toni Collette (“Hereditary”), Annie Murphy (“Schitt’s Creek”), Sam Richardson (“Hocus Pocus 2”), Will Forte (“MacGruber”), Colman Domingo (“Fear the Walking Dead”), and Jane Fonda (“Book Club”). That star power didn’t prove to be much help.
Those who don’t have young kids would be forgiven for never having heard of the latest from DreamWorks Animation, as it really came and went with little fanfare. The movie debuted in theaters alongside “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” on June 30 and had a terrible $5.5 million debut, arriving in sixth place on the domestic charts. Unlike Pixar’s “Elemental,” director Kirk DeMicco’s animated adventure did not sprout long legs. Instead, it sadly kind of died on the vine.
Other misfires from the studio include “The Road to El Dorado” ($65.7 million worldwide/$95 million budget), “Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas” ($80 million worldwide/$60 million budget), and “Flushed Away” ($179 million worldwide/$149 million budget). Some of those movies may have lost more money in the end, but all of them sold more tickets than “Ruby Gillman.”
The good news here is that this is not the norm for DreamWorks. Earlier this year, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” became a surprisingly big animated hit ($484 million worldwide) with remarkably long legs. The studio also had “The Bad Guys” ($250 million worldwide/$70 million budget) last year, demonstrating that they can still turn out new potential franchises as well. Not to mention “The Croods: A New Age” making $215 million worldwide during the height of the pandemic. That’s still remarkable. So, hopefully, DreamWorks and Universal can shake this one off and get back to doing what they do best.
“Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken” is in theaters and on digital now.
Source From: www.slashfilm.com
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