What a fireworks show.
The long Fourth of July holiday weekend was a box office extravaganza for Hollywood as Minions: The Rise of Gru scored a huge four-day opening of $125.2 million domestically, according to Monday estimates. That includes $107 million for the three days, although grosses could shift in either direction when weekend actuals are tallied on Tuesday. Sunday numbers had shown Gru coming in around $129 million in a reminder that estimates fluctuate throughout the weekend.
Overseas, the movie crossed $86 million on Sunday for a global booty of $200 million-plus. By Monday, the tally will be north of $220 million.
Forget about breaking pandemic-era records for a family title; the Illumination and Universal movie will boast one of the top starts ever at the domestic box office for an animated Hollywood tentpole, not adjusted for inflation. (Higher-priced Imax locations helped, turning in $10 million globally, including $8.6 million domestically.)
Friday’s haul alone was around $48 million from 4,400 theaters, including a hefty $10.8 million in previews.
The movie’s performance is significant in that it confirms that parents and younger kids are ready to return to the multiplex in droves. Throughout the pandemic, animated films have been considered a challenged genre. It didn’t help when Pixar and Disney’s Toy Story spinoff Lightyear opened to a tepid $51 million last month before falling off steeply in its sophomore outing. (Still, Lightyear achieved a milestone Friday when jumping the $100 million mark domestically.)
Until now, Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2, a live-action/CGI hybrid, held the record for the biggest opening of the pandemic era for a PG family release with $72 million.
In regard to Hollywood’s biggest July Fourth openings, 2011’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon earned $115.9 million for the same four-day holiday weekend, followed by Spider-Man 2 ($115.8 million) and 2017’s Despicable Me 3 ($99 million). If estimates hold, Minions 2 will easily rank as No. 1. Some consider Spider-Man: Homecoming a July Fourth entry, since the holiday fell mid-week in 2017, but it isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison (Homecoming debuted over the July 7-9 weekend to $117 million domestically).
Another milestone moment: Overall revenue for the weekend will actually come in ahead of the same frame in 2019 as the box office recovery continues to gain momentum. Holdovers — especially Top Gun: Maverick — are also contributing to the boon.
The Rise of Gru is a sequel to 2015’s Minions and is the fifth entry in the Despicable Me franchise, which is the top-grossing animated series in history, not adjusted for inflation.
Heading into the weekend, tracking suggested that Minions 2 would open in the $70 million to $80 million range for the four-day holiday, but some believed it would do more. If going by the four-day number, the film will hold the record for a franchise-best opening, but if going by the three days, it will come in slightly behind Minions ($115.7 million).
Minions 2 will become only the 10th animated Hollywood film to debut to $100 million or more, a list led by Incredibles 2 ($182.7 million). Its three-day number of $107 makes it the No. 9 domestic launch of all time after displacing fellow Illumination pic The Secret Life of Pets ($104.4 million), not adjusted for inflation.
Audiences bestowed Minions: The Rise of Gru with an A CinemaScore and strong exits.
The star-packed voice cast features Steve Carell, Pierre Coffin, Alan Arkin, Michelle Yeoh, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Taraji P. Henson, Lucy Lawless, Dolph Lundgren, RZA, Danny Trejo and Jean-Claude Van Damme. The origin story reveals how the supervillain Gru (Carell) and the Minions met when Gru was a young boy growing up in a 1970s suburb.
Top Gun 2 continues to boom more than a month after first flying into theaters and looks to benefit from the patriotic holiday. The pic fell a scant 14 percent from last weekend to $25.5 million. For the long weekend, it should earn an estimated $32.5 million as it heads for the $600 million mark domestically after finishing Monday with an expected $571 million.
The Tom Cruise movie also continues to impress overseas, where it earned another $37 million for a foreign tally of $544.5 million and $1.11 billion globally.
Elvis fell to No. 3 in its second weekend with an estimated three-day gross of $19 million and $23.7 million for the four, putting the biopic’s domestic total at $67.3 million through Sunday and roughly $72 million through Monday. Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley movie fell 39 percent from last weekend. Overseas, it pulled in another $15.4 million for a global total of $113.5 million through Sunday.
Jurassic World Dominion became only the fourth movie since COVID-19 to jump the $800 million mark worldwide with an estimated global total of $824.5 million. It finished No. 4 domestically with a three-day gross of $15.7 million and a projected $19.2 million for the four.
The Black Phone rounded out the top five, giving Universal three of the top spots. The Blumhouse-produced horror pic earned $12.3 million for the three days and an estimated $14.6 million for the four. Through Sunday, it has grossed $74.4 million globally.
Lightyear came in No. 6 in its third weekend with an estimated $6.6 million for the three days and $8.1 million for the four. Through Sunday, the Pixar movie has earned $105.4 million domestically and $82.2 million overseas for a global cume of $187.6 million.
Other than Minions 2, the only other new nationwide offering over July Fourth was Bleecker Street’s period drama Mr. Malcolm’s List, which opened in seventh place with an estimated $851,000 for the three days and $1 million for the four.
July 4, 8:45 a.m. Updated with revised estimates.
This story was first published July 3 at 7:57 a.m.
Source: Hollywood
