Universal/Illumination’s “Minions: The Rise of Gru” has dramatically raised the bar for family films at the post-shutdown box office, earning an excellent opening day of $48 million from TK screens and an estimated 3-day opening of $109 million, becoming the first animated film to post a $100 million-plus launch since “Frozen II” in November 2019.
Any concerns in the film industry about long-term drops in family turnout after Disney/Pixar’s “Lightyear” underperformed can be dispelled. “Minions 2” is posting a higher opening weekend than any of the three main “Despicable Me” films, and its estimated 4-day opening of $129 million that includes July 4 numbers will top the $115 million 3-day opening of the first “Minions” in 2015. It will also rank among the top 10 highest openings ever for an animated film.
Audiences who show up to a “Despicable Me” film know what they’re getting, and “Minions 2” satisfied them with sterling audiences scores of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and an A on CinemaScore. This will mean that even when Marvel’s “Thor: Love and Thunder” takes away premium screen support and a good chunk of general audiences next weekend, “Minions 2” should continue to have a strong run through July with families.
The box office riches keep coming with the other films in the top 5, all of which posted strong holds. Leading them is the king of holds, Paramount/Skydance’s “Top Gun: Maverick” with a sixth weekend total of $26.2 million, just 11% down from last weekend’s $30 million haul. The $1 billion hit is now set to cross $600 million in domestic grosses this coming weekend.
Warner Bros.’ “Elvis” is third with an estimated second weekend of $17.5 million, a 44% drop from its $30 million opening. The $85 million biopic is close to getting out of the red with an estimated two-weekend total of $70 million.
Universal’s “Jurassic World: Dominion” is fourth with $16 million in its fourth weekend while Blumhouse’s “The Black Phone” earned a 50% hold in its second weekend with $11 million. The “Jurassic” trilogy capper will raise its total to $336 million by the end of the weekend while the $18 million “Black Phone” is now turning a profit with a two-weekend total of $49 million.
