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Let the fireworks begin.
The July 4th long holiday weekend turns into a bonanza for Hollywood as Minions: The Rise of Gru is heading for a huge four-day opening of $129.2 million domestically, according to initial estimates. That includes $109.5 million for the three days. (Some competitors believe they have a shot at $140 million by the end of Monday.)
Overseas, the film will top $86 million by Sunday for a worldwide haul of over $200 million.
Forget about breaking pandemic-era records for a family title; The Illumination and Universal film will boast one of the best starts ever at the domestic box office for an animated Hollywood tentpole that is not adjusted for inflation.
Friday’s earnings alone totaled approximately $48 million from 4,400 theaters, including a whopping $10.8 million in previews.
The film’s achievement is significant in that it confirms that parents and younger children are ready to return to the multiplex in droves. Animated films have been seen as a challenged genre throughout the pandemic. It didn’t help when Pixar and Disney’s toy story spin off light year opened last month at a paltry $51 million before falling precipitously in its second year (still, light year hit a milestone on Friday when it topped the $100 million mark domestically on Friday).
Until now, Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2a live-action/CGI hybrid, held the record for the largest pandemic-era opening for a PG family release at $72 million.
Regarding Hollywood’s Biggest Openings on July 4th, 2011 Transformers: Dark of the Moon earned $115.9 million for the same four-day holiday weekend, followed by Spiderman 2 ($115.8 million) and 2017 I – Despicable Me 3 ($99 million). If estimates apply minions 2 will easily rank as #1. Some think about it Spider-Man: Homecoming an entry from July 4th, since the 2017 holiday fell midweek, but it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison (homecoming debuted at $117 million domestically over the weekend of July 7-9).
Another milestone: the total for the weekend will actually be ahead of the same mark in 2019 as the box office recovery continues to gather momentum. Leftovers – and above all Top Gun: Maverick – also contribute to the blessing.
The Rise of Gru is a sequel from 2015 minions and is the fifth entry in the Despicable Me Franchise, the highest-grossing animated series in history, not adjusted for inflation.
Heading into the weekend, tracking indicated that minions 2 would open for the four-day holiday in the $70-80 million range, but some believed it would do more. Sticking to the four-day tally, the film holds the record for a franchise’s best opening. But if you go after the three days, it will arrive a little later minions ($115.7 million).
minions 2 will be only the 10th Hollywood animated film to debut at $100 million or more, a list headed by Incredible 2 ($182.7 million).
awarded audience Minions: The Rise of Gru with an A CinemaScore and strong exits.
The star cast includes 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 follows how supervillain Gru (Carell) and the Minions met when Gru was a young boy growing up in the suburbs in the 1970s.
Top gun 2 continues to boom more than a month after it first flew to theaters and appears to be benefiting from the patriotic holiday season. The picture is estimated to fall nearly 9 percent from last weekend to $26.9 million for the three days. For the four days, it should make an estimated $34 million as it heads towards the $600 million mark domestically after closing at $572.6 million on Monday.
elvis will drop to No. 3 in its second weekend with an estimated three-day gross of $18.5 million and $23.7 million for the four, putting the biopic’s domestic total at $72 million .
Jurassic World Dominion and The black phone will round out the top 5, giving Universal three of the top 5 spots.
