Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken Drowns At The Box Office With $6 Million Opening Weekend

Marketing spend figures for “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken” aren’t available, but it certainly feels like this movie was sent out to die by Universal Pictures. When the first trailer dropped in theaters a couple of months ago, it was a baffling experience; despite covering movie releases as a full-time job, I’d had no idea that this one was on the way, and I’ve seen very little promotion for it since then.

Animated originals can be a tough sell, but “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken” director Kirk DeMicco does have a previous hit under his belt with “The Croods” (still the most commercially successful movie of Nicolas Cage’s career). “The Croods” arguably tapped into the existing appeal of the adjacent “Ice Age” franchise, but “Ruby Gillman” really struggled to figure out its hook. There’s something inherently jarring about the notion of a colorful society of krakens with superpowers, given that the kraken is traditionally thought of as a solitary cryptid (hence, “the kraken”), lurking anciently and mysteriously in the fathoms. We’ve also been pretty spoiled when it comes to animation styles recently — DreamWorks’ own “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” being one notable example — and the smooth, doughy, “Shark Tale”-esque look of this movie seems kind of cheap and outdated by comparison.

It’s a shame to see an original movie flop this badly at the box office, since the market is so overwhelmed by sequels, prequels, spin-offs, and adaptations. Still, perhaps “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken” will eventually find a bigger audience when it heads to streaming (which, at this rate, could be sooner rather than later).