As one of the largest, most popular, and all-encompassing brands on the planet, the expanded Minions IP is guaranteed to bring in big bucks in whatever form it shows up. Having already raked in upwards of $3.7 billion at the box office across its first four installments, fifth entry The Rise of Gru is on course to topple several major box office milestones this weekend.
Given that the theatrical industry has only barely begun recapturing its former glories after a two-year pandemic downturn, there were some analysts predicting that the little yellow rascals may end up under-performing due to stiff competition from holdover titles, but that looks to have been a million miles wide of the mark.
As per the latest estimates, The Rise of Gru is on course for a three-day haul of almost $110 million, while the four-day holiday frame could push it as high as $130 million. That would make it the top-grossing opener in the entire Despicable Me franchise ahead of the first Minions‘ $128 million, which would also be a record for Illumination Entertainment.
On top of that, should The Rise of Gru exceed $115 million (which is almost certainly will with the greatest of ease), then it’ll also seize the record of being the biggest debutant across the July 4 weekend from Friday-Monday, a benchmark that was set over a decade ago by Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
Oh, and it’ll additionally score the highest first weekend for an animated feature since 2019, if The Rise of Gru needed one more accolade to act as the cherry on the icing on the cake.