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Theater owners are preparing for more Minion mayhem.
“Minions & Monsters” will lead the box office over the July 4 weekend, with the seventh installment in Universal and Illumination’s “Despicable Me” franchise aiming
for $80 million from 4,000 North American theaters during the five-day holiday frame. Exhibitors and rival studios are mixed on where “Minions” will end up, with projections ranging from $60 million to $90 million.
Box office watchers anticipate that attendance across the movie theater business might be slower than the typical holiday weekend since July 4th lands on Saturday. Instead of going to cinemas during the busiest day of the week for moviegoing, Americans will likely be attending barbecues and setting off fireworks to celebrate the country’s 250th birthday. Around the globe, World Cup matches could be another distraction from the big screen.
In any case, “Minions & Monsters” is tracking a softer start in Universal’s kid-friendly series, which has enjoyed lucrative commercial success around Independence Day. The comedic property, which revolves around mischievous yellow critters and their reformed-villain leader, has only grown in popularity since 2010’s “Despicable Me” opened to $56 million. By comparison, the two most recent entries, 2022’s spinoff sequel “Minions: The Rise of Gru” and 2024’s “Despicable Me 4,” launched to $123 million and $122 million, respectively, over the same five-day holiday stretch. (Universal always gets a jump on the holiday weekend with “Despicable Me” installments by putting them in theaters on Wednesday.) Both of those films became juggernauts with the second “Minions” earning $940 million globally and the fourth “Despicable Me” amassing $972 million by the end of their runs. “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” which holds the record for the biggest opening over Fourth of July weekend, benefitted from the #GentleMinions craze, a viral TikTok trend that encouraged teenage moviegoers to see the film while dressed in suits.
Another new release, the patriotic historical drama “Young Washington,” is targeting a strong $15 million to $20 million start. Angel Studios is backing the film, which tells the story of George Washington before the American Revolutionary War and his presidency.
Elsewhere at the domestic box office, Disney’s “Toy Story 5” should bring in $35 million to $45 million in its third weekend of release, while “Supergirl” is bracing for a 60% decline in ticket sales after debuting to just $37.1 million. That would put revenues at roughly $15 million for the weekend. “Toy Story 5” has been the latest win for animated sequels with $300 million domestically and $585 million worldwide after 12 days in theaters. Meanwhile “Supergirl” underscores the challenges facing comic-book adaptations, particularly those centered on lesser-known heroes, with $37 million in North America and $62 million globally to date. Given its substantial $170 million budget, the Warner Bros. and DC Studios film is projected to lose atleast $100 million to $120 millionin its theatrical run.
“Minions & Monsters” touched down last weekend at the international box office with $10 million from 10 markets. The film will expand to another 59 territories over the weekend. Prior “Despicable Me” adventures and spinoffs have demonstrated notable box office staying power, so “Minions & Monsters” could stick around throughout the summer, even if it starts slower than its predecessors. The film was produced for $85 million, making it slightly less expensive than prior franchise entries, which carried $100 million price tags.
“Minions & Monsters” is directed by Pierre Coffin, who helmed the first three “Despicable Me” films and first “Minions” installment. He also provides the voice of the Minions. The story takes place in 1920, way before the events of 2015’s “Minions,” and follows the babbling agents of chaos as they become the toast of Hollywood. But when sound comes along, the Minions are unable to sustain careers in showbiz because of the sad fact that the rest of the world can’t understand their native tongue, Minionese. Variety’s film critic Guy Lodge called “Minions & Monsters” a “clear peak for the series,” noting that it’s “smarter, wilder and funnier” […] “than the seventh entry in any animated franchise has a right to be.”
