Minions: The Rise of Gru will set box office records on its first weekend. The Minions sequel (the fifth picture in the overall Despicable Me franchise, which is already the highest-grossing animated film franchise in box office history) will earn $109 million in its first three days and just under $128 million over the four-day Fourth of July holiday weekend. That sum is enough to overtake Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($115.9 million in 2011) as the largest July 4th opening of all time. Minions: The Rise of Gru is also exceeding global projections, and is expected to gross more than $200 million in its first weekend.
Critics have given Minions: The Rise of Gru decent ratings (and some less traditional reviews from non-critics). According to the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, it has a fresh score of 71%. Yet this sequel injects retro flair, the consensus of the site’s critics is that “The Minions’ antic escapades are beginning to grate, although this zany marathon of comedy will still thrill young children.”
Advertisers desire to work with global motion picture brands, and for Minions: The Rise of Gru, Universal attracted a collection of international partners that collectively generated the highest media value ever for an Illumination Despicable Me/Minions film at $285M+, according to sources.
Despite Minions: The Rise of Gru’s chart-topping debut, which broke all previous records, it appears that this weekend’s box office will be strong overall. Additionally, Top Gun: Maverick, Elvis, and Jurassic World Dominion are attracting viewers to the movies.
A $43 million opening day will be followed by a $116.6 million four-day holiday debut for Minions: The Rise of Gru at 4,391 theatres, which includes Thursday night’s $10.75 million.
After Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($187.4M), Jurassic World Dominion ($145M), The Batman ($134M), and Top Gun: Maverick ($126.7M), Minions: The Rise of Gru is the fifth-highest opening of 2022.
Rise of Gru, the seventh Despicable Me/Minions film to debut at No. 1 in the United States and Canada, has easily the best Independence Day holiday opening of any animated film during the pandemic.
The sequel is also on track to surpass Inside Out, which debuted to $90.4M in 2015, and become the country’s 10th-highest animated film.
Rise of Gru (Uni) in 4,391 theatres this Friday $48.1M, $109.5M, $129.2M, and 4-day/Wk 1