Families went bananas for Minions this weekend at the movie theater. 鈥� 鈥� brought in an estimated $108.5 million in ticket sales from 4,391 screens in North America, Universal Pictures said Sunday. By the end of the Monday鈥檚 July Fourth holiday, it will likely have earned over $127.9 million.
The film is on track to become one of the biggest openings ever for a July Fourth holiday weekend, a record previously held by 鈥淭ransformers: Dark of the Moon鈥� which made $115.9 million in its first four days in 2011. Including international showings, where 鈥淢inions: The Rise of Gru" is playing in 61 markets, its worldwide gross is sitting at $202.2 million through Sunday.
鈥淚t's a tremendous debut,鈥� said Jim Orr, Universal's president of domestic distribution. 鈥淚t鈥檚 playing very broadly across North America. Every single market doing extraordinarily well.鈥�
This is just the latest in a string of successes for Universal's family releases, including 鈥淪ing 2," which has grossed over $406 million since opening in December, and 鈥淭he Bad Guys,鈥� which has made over $243 million. 鈥淢inions: The Rise of Gru鈥� serves as further proof that family audiences are willing to go back to the movie theater.
鈥淔amilies feel very comfortable bringing all their kids to the theater,鈥� Orr said. 鈥淭hese results speak for themselves.鈥�
鈥淢inions 2鈥� attracted all ages to the theater, even the very young. According to PostTrak surveys, 12% were under the age of 10.
鈥淔or many months there was this idea that family audiences were not going to come back to the theater. We can put that to rest,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore.
The spinoff of the popular 鈥淒espicable Me鈥� series was because of the pandemic. The sequel to the 2015 film 鈥淢inions鈥� was originally slated for a July 2020 release. While many other animated family films opted for streaming or hybrid releases, 鈥淢inions,鈥� much like 鈥淭op Gun: Maverick,鈥� stayed the course and waited for an ideal time to launch in theaters only. And as with 鈥淭op Gun鈥� the wait, it seems, was worth it.
鈥淭his became an event. It was a holiday weekend, the release date was perfect, the marketing was spot on,鈥� Dergarabedian said. 鈥淎nd everyone knew this was going to be in theaters only.鈥�
The voice cast features Steve Carell, reprising his role as Gru, Alan Arkin, Michelle Yeoh and Julie Andrews as Gru鈥檚 mother. Critics were mixed to positive (it currently has a 72% on Rotten Tomatoes) but audiences were more enthusiastic, giving the Gru origin story an A CinemaScore.
Universal and Illumination have had enormous success with the five 鈥淒espicable Me鈥� movies and spinoffs, which date back to 2010 and have earned over $3.7 billion at the global box office.
In second place was 鈥淭op Gun: Maverick,鈥� which continues to deliver six weeks in, adding another $25.5 million to its total, which has already surpassed $1 billion. The Paramount Pictures film is still playing in 3,843 locations.
Warner Bros.' 鈥淓lvis鈥� took third place, down only 39% in its second weekend in theaters. The Baz Luhrmann film grossed an estimated $19 million through Sunday, bringing its domestic total to $67.3 million.
Fourth and fifth place went to Universal titles as well with 鈥淛urassic World: Dominion" picking up another $15.7 million and the horror movie 鈥淭he Black Phone鈥� adding $12.3 million through Sunday.
Disney's 鈥淟ightyear," meanwhile, tumbled further in its third weekend with an estimated $6.5 million. By Monday, that total should raise to $8.1 million bringing its cumulative earnings to $106.9 million.
Bleecker Street released 鈥� 鈥� this weekend on 1,384 screens in the U.S. and sa国际传媒. The Regency-era comedy of manners stars as friends looking to get back at a picky bachelor. The studio estimates that the film will have $851,853 by end of Sunday and over $1 million by end of Monday.
Audiences are also still catching up with A24鈥檚 鈥淓verything Everywhere All At Once,鈥� which added an estimated $552,000 from 607 screens, in spite of the fact that it鈥檚 also available to rent on demand. The studio鈥檚 newer title, 鈥淢arcel the Shell With Shoes On,鈥� expanded to 22 screens this weekend and is expected to earn about $308,000 by the end of Monday.
According to Comscore, the weekend as a whole will go down as one of the biggest of the pandemic era. And the momentum is expected to continue with the release of Marvel's 鈥淭hor: Love and Thunder鈥� next week.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Tuesday.
1. 鈥淢inions: The Rise of Gru,鈥� $108.5 million.
2. 鈥淭op Gun: Maverick,鈥� $25.5 million.
3. 鈥淓lvis,鈥� $19 million.
4. 鈥淛urassic World: Dominion,鈥� $15.7 million.
5. 鈥淭he Black Phone,鈥� $12.3 million.
6. 鈥淟ightyear,鈥� $6.6 million.
7. 鈥淢r. Malcolm鈥檚 List, $851,853.
8. 鈥淓verything Everywhere All at Once,鈥� $551,974.
9. 鈥淒octor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,鈥� $390,000.
10. 鈥淛ugJugg Jeeyo,鈥� $318,000.
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Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
