Universal and Illumination Entertainment’s “Minions: The Rise of Gru” is on fire at the Fourth of July box office.
The film is projected to hit a $129.2 million opening over the four-day holiday weekend – nearly doubling the $70 million predictions the industry was throwing about this week.
In addition, from Friday-Sunday it’s tracking for a $109.4 million opening – the highest domestic opening for an animated film since “Frozen 2” back in 2019 and close to the $115.7 million three-day opening of the first “Minions”.
Should it now hit those new projections, it will shatter the Fourth of July weekend box office record-breaking the one held by 2011’s “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” which grossed $115.9 million over the four-day period.
Internationally the film is also opening strong with $92.7 million and has scored good critics reviews, along with a very healthy CinemaScore of an ‘A’ from audiences. Part of the surge is being driven by TikTok with a trending meme being to dress up in suits to go and see “Minions”.
Second place? Surprise, surprise it’s “Top Gun: Maverick” which is expected to fall just 9% this weekend and tracking for a $26.8 million three-day haul. By Monday its domestic gross is expected to sit at an astonishing $572 million.
“Elvis” is headed for third with $20 million for the three day – a modest 35% drop, while “Jurassic World Dominion” will be fourth with $16.1 million (a 39% drop) and “The Black Phone” in fifth with a 50% drop to $11.9 million. “Lightyear” continues in a death spiral, falling 65% to a $6.4 million three-day haul and is tracking to be one of the studio’s lowest-grossing domestic earners.
Source: Variety
