"Minions & Monsters" Tops Box Office With $16 Million Friday Opening

Minions & Monsters" has taken the top spot at the North American box office this Independence Day weekend. The animated film, made by Universal and Illumination, earned $16 million on Friday from 4,243 theaters, and is expected to reach $39.5 million by Sunday.

Since its July 1 release, the film's North American total is expected to hit $64 million, with another $87 million coming from overseas.

The "Despicable Me" franchise has always done well at the box office. "Despicable Me 4" earned $972 million worldwide in 2024, and "Minions: The Rise of Gru" made $940 million in 2022. The 2015 film "Minions" remains the franchise's biggest hit at $1.15 billion.

Set in the 1920s, the new film follows the Minions as they try to make a monster movie. The cast includes Pierre Coffin, Trey Parker, Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jeff Bridges, Jesse Eisenberg, Zoey Deutch, Bobby Moynihan and Phil LaMarr. Coffin co-directed with Patrick Delage and also co-wrote the script with Brian Lynch.

"Toy Story 5" came second, earning $13 million on Friday in its third weekend. It should reach $32 million by Sunday, bringing its total to about $367 million. The earlier film, "Toy Story 4," made over $1 billion worldwide.

"Young Washington," from Angel Studios, placed third with $7.4 million on Friday, expected to hit $16 million by Sunday. The film shows a young George Washington fighting in the Revolutionary War. William Franklyn-Miller plays the lead, with Mary-Louise Parker, Leo Hanna, Mia Rodgers, Kelsey Grammer, Andy Serkis and Ben Kingsley also in the cast.

"Supergirl," from Warner Bros. and DC, came fourth with $3.6 million on Friday, expected to reach $8.7 million by Sunday. This is a 76% drop from its $37.1 million opening last weekend. Variety reports the film may earn $200 million worldwide, leaving it around $100 million short of profit.

Steven Spielberg's "Disclosure Day" finished fifth with $2.2 million on Friday, expected to reach $5.5 million by Sunday. After four weekends, its North American total stands at $104 million.

Source: [variety]