The Minions are back on top. Illumination and Universal’s Minions and Monsters opened with $14.23 million on its first day, earning an A- CinemaScore and claiming the number one spot at the box office over the Independence Day holiday weekend. The seventh film in the Despicable Me and Minions franchise — a series that has generated $5.6 billion globally across 16 years — arrives as the best-reviewed entry in the franchise’s history, holding a 90% Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Directed by Pierre Coffin and produced by franchise architect Chris Meledandri, Minions and Monsters follows the early Hollywood days of Gru’s little henchmen in the 1920s — their rise and fall as movie stars and their eventual role as defenders of Earth against an alien invasion. The film cost an estimated $85 million net before global marketing spend and arrived in 69 territories this weekend, with 10 of those having opened the previous week. International performance will be critical: historically, the Despicable Me franchise generates more than 60% of its total gross overseas, and two films in the series — Minions and Despicable Me 3 — crossed a billion dollars globally.
Wednesday’s opening puts the film as the fourth-best debut for an animated film in July, behind Despicable Me 2‘s $35 million, Despicable Me 4‘s $27.2 million, and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs‘ $13.79 million in 2009. Tracking had forecast an $80 million opening frame, with exhibitor estimates ranging from $60 million to $90 million. With July 4th falling on a Saturday — a configuration that historically produces softer holiday day numbers but stronger Friday and Sunday returns for family films — the full picture of the opening frame will emerge by Monday morning.
The A- CinemaScore is only the second in the franchise’s history, matching Despicable Me 3. Among five-day Independence Day animated openings, Despicable Me 2 holds the record at $143 million, followed by Despicable Me 4 at $122.6 million.
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The Rest of the Weekend
Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 5 earned $7.8 million on Wednesday, down 38% from Tuesday’s $12.6 million, bringing its two-week running domestic total to $326.6 million. The Andrew Stanton-directed sequel has been a reliable performer in its second week.
Warner Bros and DC’s Supergirl was third with $2.1 million on Wednesday, extending its six-day domestic total to $46.5 million — a figure that underscores the challenging commercial reality facing the second film in James Gunn’s DC Universe.
Also opening Friday is Angel Studios and Wonder Project’s historical biopic Young Washington, starring Andy Serkis, Mary-Louise Parker, Ben Kingsley, Kelsey Grammer, and William Franklyn-Miller as the title character.
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