Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken Was Universal’s Answer To Disney’s Massive Streaming Hit From 3 Years Ago (But It Didn’t Work)

Although Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken boasts a solid voice cast and visuals, it underperformed at the box office and effectively failed as the answer to Disney’s massive 2021 hit, Luca. The coming-of-age fantasy action comedy, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, was supposed to be one of the biggest animated movies of 2023, and while there are several reasons why the movie failed at the box office, its lackluster performance doesn’t bode well for DreamWorks’ future movies in this vein. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken‘s biggest competition, Luca, was both a critical and commercial success, which makes it worth considering why Ruby Gillman didn’t perform.

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken‘s failure also complicates Shrek 5‘s future since the upcoming sequel to the long-running franchise is expected to make $750 million at the box-office. Luca was released in 2021 amid the pandemic, but it found massive success via Disney+, something that solidified it as a welcome addition to Disney’s already impressive roster. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, on the other hand, enjoyed a theatrical release in 2023 – something that should have guaranteed its success. However, factors ranging from poor advertising and an underwhelming trailer contributed to its failure.

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Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken’s box office fail, worth $70 million in budget, greatly puts Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’s successes into perspective.

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken Has Numerous Similarities To Disney’s 2021 Movie Luca

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken shares the visual flair of Luca without a distinct brand of substance.

Luca centers around the burgeoning friendship between a sea creature disguised as a boy and a fellow sea creature boy living along the Italian Riviera, and their complicated friendship with a human girl. Boasting beautiful visuals, a unique approach to adventurous storytelling, and a great voice cast, Luca‘s success on Disney+ isn’t too surprising in retrospect. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken also features a similar plot of its young protagonist trying to adapt to human life while also relying on stunning visuals and the talents of its mostly young cast to breathe new life into the genre. Nevertheless, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken‘s unoriginal plot and confusing structure contributed to its failure.

Why Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken Bombed At The Box Office In 2023

Poor advertising and comparisons to Luca are some of the reasons Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken failed.

Upon release, it only grossed $46 million against an estimated $70 million budget, sadly certifying Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken as a box office bomb. The decision of DreamWorks to only begin promoting the movie a mere three months before the theatrical release with a confusing trailer that spoils the entire movie and an undefined target age range was a short-sighted one. The poor marketingessentially made it close to impossible to generate any hype for Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken. Ruby Gillman‘s poor performance forced a digital VOD release a little over two weeks after its theatrical release, an entertainment practice that essentially seals a movie’s fate as a box office failure.

It’s also fair to question whether Ruby Gillman may have found a larger audience on streaming. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken‘s comparisons to Luca both in style and substance potentially contributed to its failure, since audiences already had the superior version at home. As Luca‘s success on Disney+ allowed it to be promoted as one of the best animated movies on the streamer’s roster, Ruby Gillman going to theaters seems even more like a bad miscalculation. With all that considered, the failure of Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken compared to the critical and commercial success of Luca is unfortunately easy to understand.