NEWS: 'Minions: The Rise of Gru' Breaks Box Office Records

The new animated movie from Illumination and Universal, Minions: The Rise of Gru, is having a great opening weekend at the box office.

HUGE Minion

In recent months, several new releases have put up impressive box office numbers. Films like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man: No Way Home have hit some major milestones, and now, another movie is off to a strong start at the box office.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, early estimates for the long 4th of July weekend show that Minions: The Rise of Gru is expected to bring in a huge four-day opening of $127.9 million at the domestic box office.

©Universal

In addition to the domestic total, the movie is also expected to bring in another $86 million internationally by Sunday, for a global box office total of $200 million-plus.

Minion

This means the Illumination and Universal movie will boast one of the top starts for an animated movie ever at the domestic box office. It’s significant that the film is performing so well because it indicates that parents and younger kids are ready to return to the theater in large numbers. Until now, Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2 held the record for the biggest PG family release of the pandemic era, opening with $72 million.

Minions

In addition to setting a pandemic-era record for family movies, the film is also on-track to set the record for the biggest opening ever for the four-day 4th of July weekend. Currently, the record for the same weekend is held by 2011’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which earned $115.9 million for the same four-day holiday weekend, followed by 2004’s Spider-Man 2 ($115.8 million) and 2017’s Despicable Me 3 ($99 million). If the estimates hold, Minions: The Rise of Gru will easily overtake them to become number one.

Transformers the Ride

Following its strong start, Minions: The Rise of Gru will become only the 10th animated film in Hollywood history to debut with an opening weekend of $100 million or more, a list currently led by Incredibles 2 ($182.7 million).