A lot of movies coming out in the summer of 2023 are looking to make tremendous waves at the box office. One of the more unexpected is the upcoming animated family film from DreamWorks, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, an original movie not based on an existing intellectual property. This could easily make the family film sink under pressure, but its obvious cinematic rival might off a unique form of marketing.
Another 2023 movie is the live-action remake of Disney's The Little Mermaid, which is going for a somewhat similar audience as Ruby Gillman. In many ways, the latter is a sort of antithesis to the Disney movie, and this could help it not be swept up by the moviegoing tide. In fact, by tapping into an audience that may or may not have liked Disney's new film, Ruby Gillman can release a wave of box office success.
Ruby Gillman Could Be Destroyed in the Most Crowded Summer of the 2020s
As mentioned, 2023 is packed to the proverbial gills like no year since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with several movies battling it out at the box office during the peak months of summer. Many of these are action-based blockbusters, with The Flash, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One coming out in quick succession. That's amid family films, with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the live-action version of The Little Mermaid and the animated Pixar movie Elemental coming out in this time frame. With so many films releasing at seemingly the same time, it's going to be a difficult time for even stalwart franchises to make bank.
This challenge is even greater for the likes of Ruby Gillman, which feels a bit out of place. Not based on an existing franchise or series, the DreamWorks film is more along the lines of a bizarre 2000s Nickelodeon production than anything most audiences would go out to see in theaters nowadays. The voice cast is made up of celebrities who aren't all exactly household names, and there's so far been relatively minimal hype or excitement. This could set it up for failure, but a likely intentional part of its narrative may allow it to be the ultimate summer counter-programming.
Ruby Gillman Is the Perfect Competition for The Little Mermaid
The plot of Ruby Gillman involves the title character learning of her ancestry as part of a royal lineage of underwater krakens. Not only must she overcome her tyrannical grandmother, but she has to also oppose a legion of little mermaids with big egos. The latter point, along with the general aquatic theme, is very much the antithesis of The Little Mermaid. It even features a central mermaid with red hair, who very much feels like a less heroic version of the classic animated Ariel. These things will surely be picked up on by older audiences, and it could work to Ruby Gillman's advantage.
By the time it comes out, The Little Mermaid will have been in theaters for several weeks. Thus, those who've already seen the movie or are simply looking for something else might check out Ruby Gillman, especially since it's obviously made in opposition to Disney's production. This could be a sort of update of the feud between DreamWorks and Pixar over the movies A Bug's Life and Antz. Such contrasting releases aren't very common in theaters, so it's unknown how exactly well it will pay off for Ruby Gillman. As untested as the formula may be, it's perhaps the movie's only real chance at not drowning at the box office this summer.
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken swims into theaters June 30.