Once upon a time, DreamWorks Animation was held up on the same pedestal as Pixar, which was fully deserved when the studio was responsible for the Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar, How to Train Your Dragon, and The Croods franchises, which racked up billions upon billions of dollars at the box office.
However, as we’ve seen on countless occasions already this year, not even the mightiest outfits in Hollywood are safe from box office disaster, with Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken marking DreamWorks’ biggest-ever box office catastrophe after the aquatic caper scored its worst opening weekend ever on its way to a running total that hasn’t even recouped half of the $70 million production budget.
Even though the all-ages adventure only hit theaters on June 30, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is now available to rent or buy on-demand, a mere 18 days after debuting at the multiplex. The company must be hoping that does something to generate some additional revenue, otherwise it’s going to lose a whole lot of money for the once-powerful animated heavy hitter.
Based on how things are going, it’s more of a surprise these days when a high-profile feature doesn’t underwhelm or outright bomb at the box office, with the list of titles to have shaken off the stigma of a cursed 2023 and soared even to the heights initially expected standing out as rarities.
It’s not a death-knell for DreamWorks by any stretch, but it may yet embolden the executives to continue leaning more on its established IPs above originality, especially when Puss in Boots: The Last Wish turned a tidy profit last year.