Ruby Sparks
Directed by Valerie Faris, Jonathan Dayton
Calvin is a young novelist who achieved phenomenal success early in his career but is now struggling with his writing – as well as his romantic life. Finally, he makes a breakthrough and creates a character named Ruby who inspires him. When Calvin finds Ruby, in the flesh, sitting on his couch about a week later, he is completely flabbergasted that his words have turned into a living, breathing person. From TMDB
60 reactions from 3 sources (Bluesky, Lemmy, TMDB reviews) · newest Aug 30, 2026 · last updated Oct 9, 2026 · How this works
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| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluesky * | 5 | 3 | 20 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| TMDB reviews * | 1 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
29 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
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Critics, per Wikipedia
Ruby Sparks opened in a limited release in 13 theaters and grossed $140,822, with an average of $10,832 per theater and ranking number 28 at the box office. The film's widest release in the U.S. was 261 theaters, and it ultimately earned $2.5 million in the U.S. and Canada, and $6.8 million internationally for a worldwide total of $9.4 million. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 79% based on 183 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Cleverly written and wonderfully acted, Ruby Sparks overcomes its occasional lags in pace with an abundance of charm and wit." On Metacritic, which assigns a…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 60 · most liked firstI couldn't see you when you were here. And now that you're gone , I see you everywhere. Movie: Ruby Sparks (2012) 🕸️ 🌑 🖤 🎵 (Photo by Kirpal)
neutral · AI labelView post →PSA: "Ruby Sparks" is a Zoe Kazan movie from 2012 in which a dork manifests his own Manic Pixie Dream Girl, and we learn that having literally no purpose or choice but to fulfill some "nice" dude's fantasy is a Hellish torment and a form of rape. Directed by a lady so everyone thought it was stupid
positive · AI labelView post →Bro just turn the lights on in your house. You can turn this horror movie into Ruby Sparks with one simple trick
neutral · AI labelView post →In the TIFF interview Taylor mentioned that she pulled bits of inspiration from mostly 70s films such as Love Story (1970) and The Way We Were (1973). I think there is one modern film she intentionally leaves out called Ruby Sparks (thx to my buddy @thatsthefunofme on twtr 4 introducing me to it!)
neutral · AI labelView post →13 movies to get to know me: Clue Saw Rabbit Hole Ruby Sparks Hereditary The Nice Guys Eating Raoul Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie Deathtrap Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Guardians Of The Galaxy The Last Jedi A Clockwork Orange
neutral · AI labelView post →I feel like it must be A24 fatigue kicking in, where we're all tired of High Art and just want to be scared again, but if you'd seen more than one medium-scary horror movie (or "Ruby Sparks," which did the interesting version of this premise 10 years ago) there'd be nothing special about this one.
negative · AI labelView post →I asked Chatgpt and it offered "Ruby Sparks" as a solution. The cast includes Antonio Banderas and Annette Benin.
neutral · AI labelView post →Just discovered that my latest script has the same plot as a movie from 2012 called Ruby Sparks
neutral · AI labelView post →I havent seen Obsession but justice for Ruby Sparks which isnt discussed enough despite what a banger movie it is.
positive · AI labelView post →Got a full idea for a novella. Worried its too similar to the film "Ruby Sparks" might write it anyway
neutral · AI labelView post →I just saw Companion. This is an extraordinary film. It has a Bodies Bodies Bodies remote houseparty vibe at first before becoming this amazing science fictional piece that slots tonally between Ex Machina and Her, with a dash of the disturbing dynamics of Ruby Sparks. Highly recommend. #filmsky
neutral · AI labelView post →Some movie merch in another bag (somewhere else there is a Ruby Sparks Rubik’s Cube).
neutral · AI labelView post →Finally watched "Ruby Sparks". A genuinely unsettling horror film if ever I saw one, with hands down one of the most unlikeable protagonists I've ever seen.
positive · AI labelView post →In Ruby Sparks (2012) the weakest actor in SAG is the villain of the movie.
neutral · AI labelView post →I watched it yesterday in one go before work and it stuck with me. Fantastic video essay. One film I thought was going to enter into the discussion and didn’t was Ruby Sparks (2012), a Pygmalion deconstruction written by the lead actress and sympathetically portraying the self-absorbed male lead.
neutral · AI labelView post →Finally a movie that realizes Ruby Sparks was a horror film and not a just a romantic drama
neutral · AI labelView post →Because I adore Paul Dano, last night I watched Ruby Sparks (2012). If you’re in a relationship with someone and they tell you this is a ‘romantic’ film, get the fuck out. It’s a horror story. The ‘happy’ ending even sets up the monster’s return. Awful film, awful message. (I still love you, PD)
negative · AI labelView post →#15MoviesToGetToKnowMe Raiders of the Lost Ark Empire Strikes Back Dr. Strangelove Conan the Barbarian Robocop Casino Royale Tombstone Star Trek II Repo Man Blade Runner 2049 Last of the Mohicans Porco Rosso Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom Ruby Sparks The Transformers: The Movie (1986)
neutral · AI labelView post →There's a number of films I could put here and imagine I'm in the minority of viewership for (Rabbit Hole/Ruby Sparks/Goth/Lilya 4-Ever/'98 French film Sitcom/The Haunted World Of El Superbeasto) but my very first thought was this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVmG...
neutral · AI labelView post →Tonight we watched Ruby Sparks (2012), a film I often think of as a poor man's Stranger Then Fiction (2006). I like it but every time I watch it I hate Calvin a little bit more.
neutral · AI labelView post →10 movies to get to know me, in no real order Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie The Shining Rabbit Hole Back To The Future Part 2 Ruby Sparks Clue Return Of The Jedi Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm Tales From The Crypt (Amicus) Transformers: The Movie
neutral · AI labelView post →Ruby Sparks (2012) It's a fascinating film about both abusive, controlling relationships and characters who get away from a writer.
neutral · AI labelView post →Nobody told us Ruby Sparks is a horror movie!
neutral · AI labelView post →Co-directed** by a duo incl a woman (Valerie Faris & Jonathan Dayton) + fun fact that Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan (who star in the movie) are married and work on projects together incl Ruby Sparks which Kazan wrote the screenplay for.
neutral · AI labelView post →Jennifer's Body also got a subsequent critical reappraisal, whereas I only remember that you said that Ruby Sparks would be the horror movie of the year when it came out and I assumed you meant that ironically.
neutral · AI labelView post →I just saw Ruby Sparks for the first time last night. What a movie. Highly recommend it, although i could do without the very last scene www.imdb.com/title/tt1839...
positive · AI labelView post →Obsession lived up to all the hype. Give Inde Navarrette the Oscar. If you like the concept, but want a non-horror version, I highly recommend the film Ruby Sparks.
neutral · AI labelView post →Seeing the film OBSESSION tomorrow. I'm expecting it to be like an evil version of RUBY SPARKS.
neutral · AI labelView post →Ruby Sparks is a criminally underrated fantastical romantic dramedy. I highly recommend this to people who like artsy indie films, romcoms, and especially fans of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and (500) Days of Summer. My review of Ruby Sparks (2012) on @letterboxd.social: boxd.it/dFYwvX
positive · AI labelView post →Ruby Sparks. Screw that movie so frickin' hard. 😡
negative · AI labelView post →Zoe Kazan, who is married to Paul Dano, and also her writing partner, has a quite a solid film repertoire. I highly recommend “Ruby Sparks.” #hatm #thebigsick #rubysparks
unlabelledView post →#WritingCommunity #pretendpanel -where Elina and the Prince are getting into scrapes with other characters on Elina's way to her court case where she's suing her evil dreaded ex. Oh, and there's a book dragon too, it's fully awesome. Think the movie Free Guy meets Thumbelina and Ruby Sparks.
unlabelledView post →Ooh thanks for the suggestion! Also I love the Ruby Sparks reference! I was just thinking about that movie the other day because my husband was watching Horns and then I remembered What If and then Ruby Sparks 😂
unlabelledView post →OC = original character OTP = one true pairing Your boyfriend is only your OC if you drew him lol. Like that one movie Ruby Sparks. He could be your OTP though 🥰
unlabelledView post →I'll be showing the movie,Ruby Sparks to my B1-C1 students early next term. What conversation questions would you ask to encourage them to share their opinions and connect the movie to their own experiences? #EduSky #esl #efl #tesol
unlabelledView post →This is basically the plot of the movie Ruby Sparks, which came out over 10 years ago. So nothing too surprising here.
unlabelledView post →That's exactly what I want in a film: going in expecting it'll be a good watch, and emerging with vigour and passion for film (see also, Ruby Sparks and Hereditary)
unlabelledView post →261: Ruby Sparks(2012) The biggest delta between how great a movie is and how bad the ending is in movie history. The last 5 minutes undercuts every point the the movie had spent it's entire runtime making. It's astonishing. As an aside, I think this movie was the jumping off point for Obsession
unlabelledView post →🎬 The Top 4 Drama Movies Released on July 25! What's your fave? 1. Ruby Sparks 2. Batman: The Killing Joke 3. No Reservations 4. Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging Check out all 127 movies released on this day at https://todayinmovies.com #TodayInMovies #Movies #Film #Drama
unlabelledView post →🎬 The Top 4 Comedy Movies Released on July 25! What's your fave? 1. Ruby Sparks 2. Step Brothers 3. Project A: Part II 4. Caddyshack Check out all 127 movies released on this day at https://todayinmovies.com #TodayInMovies #Movies #Film #Comedy
unlabelledView post →🎬 Top 4 Movies Released on July 25! What's your fave? 1. Resident Evil: Death Island (2023) 2. Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014) 3. Ruby Sparks (2012) 4. The Fantastic 4: First Steps (2025) 127 movies released today! Check them out at https://todayinmovies.com #TodayInMovies #Movies #Film
unlabelledView post →I did! Inde is excellent. It's like a horror version of Ruby Sparks (although I hated that movie 😭)
unlabelledView post →It’s just a more fucked up version of Ruby Sparks, a movie I love.
unlabelledView post →Obsession was fun and I would say that if you want to see a film with very similar themes then Ruby Sparks is your gal. Those who know about the horror of -that- typewriter scene, you know the deal.
unlabelledView post →Just watched Obsession, boy Bear makes Paul Dano from Ruby Sparks look like bring home to mother material. Genuinely creepy horror film, with more human elements than Backrooms to latch onto.
unlabelledView post →I just watched a movie called Ruby Sparks, which I had seen recommended as a sort of companion piece to Obsession. I absolutely see it, but it was more like the episode of Voyager where Janeway starts tinkering with her holographic boyfriend and eventually has to lock herself out of his subroutines.
unlabelledView post →Obsession is Ruby Sparks as the horror film it was always meant to be.
unlabelledView post →The (movie) Ruby Sparks 1080p (Prime)(US) $4.99 (Romance) (iMDB) 7.3 Cast: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Chris Messina, Annette Bening, Antonio Banderas, Aasif Mandvi
unlabelledView post →I just realized how relevant the movie Ruby Sparks is right now because Ruby could be an (albeit a little messy) allegory for AI
unlabelledView post →I’m so tired all I did was watch Friends and Ruby Sparks, I thought it was gonna turn into a horror movie when he was proving everything to her
unlabelledView post →The last scene of Ruby Sparks utterly ruins what was until then quite a good movie.
unlabelledView post →Rewatching Ruby Sparks (2012) after a long long time and it's a complete horror movie from Ruby's perspective.
unlabelledView post →1/ 🎬✨ This week at the English Language Film Club, we watched Ruby Sparks—the story of a young novelist who creates his dream girl…and gets the surprise of his life when she turns out to be real. It's a witty, intelligent film about love, control, and creativity. #EnglishFilmClub #RubySparks #ESL
unlabelledView post →Fun story about Zoe Kazan: We met at the Tribeca Film Festival press lounge while we both were getting ice cream. Before I told her how much I love “Ruby Sparks,” we discussed which flavor of Magnum we should pick.
unlabelledView post →I saw Companion at the weekend, what a brilliant movie. If you've never heard of it, avoid all synopsis or trailers and go see it! It's the movie I imagined when I saw the bizarre romcom 'Ruby Sparks'.
unlabelledView post →#11 Ruby Sparks So I finally sat down and watched a movie by myself. I really like romance stories and this was strange but fun to view with how the mc struggled with Ruby. The different mentality he goes through really shines and it felt tense to watch at moments.
unlabelledView post →They think life is like the movie Ruby Sparks: they keep writing that Trump will be a certain way and expect life to conform to their fiction.
unlabelledView post →Seriously, I love Ruby Sparks from the standpoint of a writer. But it's also a movie about an obsessively controlling, toxic asshole who hates when things don't go exactly as he believes it should. It's a fascinating movie.
unlabelledView post →I liked Ruby Sparks but really didn’t like the end. Hidden master was great, saw it with a bunch of older gays at a film festival which was fun. Flower of my secret is also good, love an Almodóvar movie.
unlabelledView post →Interesting comedy from Zoe Kazan which will catch your attention. The cast is well chosen with a main character cat to the size of Dano. A good movie but nothing very special.
positive · AI labelView post →
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