The encyclopedia · Product & Design · Product decision · 2021–2023
DreamWorks' $70M kraken movie Ruby Gillman sank to $45.7M worldwide
DreamWorks released Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken on a $70M budget; it opened to $5.5M and grossed $45.7M worldwide, an original animation that flopped.
DreamWorks Animation · 2023-06
What happened
DreamWorks Animation, best known for franchises like Shrek and How to Train Your Dragon, released the original Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken in June 2023. The family film about a high-schooler who discovers she is a sea kraken cost a reported $70 million.
It opened to just $5.5 million in the US and Canada, one of the poorest starts for a studio animation in years, and ended its run at $45.7 million worldwide. Reviews were mixed, and trailers were widely mocked for a generic, derivative-looking brand of comedy.
Original, non-franchise animation had been struggling in the post-pandemic market, and Ruby Gillman had no established IP to pull families into theatres. Pitched straight into a crowded summer beside franchise titles, it never found an audience.
DreamWorks absorbed the loss, and the film became a reference point in coverage of how risky original animation had become for studios. It was later cited as a cautionary example of IP-less family films in a franchise-driven market.
Why it happened
- An original animated film with no franchise pedigree had no built-in audience to guarantee an opening.
- A $70M budget and a $5.5M launch meant the film could not recover even with strong word of mouth.
- Derivative-looking marketing in a crowded summer gave families no reason to choose it over known brands.
The lesson
Ruby Gillman showed original animation cannot be built on craft alone: a $70M kraken film grossed $45.7M because without franchise IP or a distinctive hook, families chose the brand they already knew.
Aftermath
The film was widely discussed as evidence of the decline of original theatrical animation, and DreamWorks made no sequel plans for the property.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (production budget $70M; worldwide gross $46.2M: $15.7M US/Canada + $30.5M other territories)
- Box Office Mojo — Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (2023) (domestic gross $15,753,600; worldwide gross $45,657,745; domestic opening $5,500,990)
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