Minions & Monsters Wins Box Office With Record-Low Debut

Universal Pictures and Illumination had high hopes for Minions and Monsters, the third film in the beloved Despicable Me spinoff series. The July 4 holiday weekend had the makings of a perfect launch window for a family animated film. However, the numbers that came back were a significant disappointment. The film grossed just $36.4 million over the traditional three-day weekend in North American theaters, marking the lowest domestic opening in franchise history by a wide margin.

Industry projections had placed the film somewhere between $65 million and $75 million for its opening weekend. The actual result came in roughly $30 million below the low end of that range. For a franchise that built one of the most recognizable animated brands in Hollywood history, that shortfall is notable.

What the expanded opening numbers look like

The picture improves slightly when factoring in an early release strategy. Universal opened the film two days ahead of the traditional Friday start, and the cumulative total including those additional days reached $61.4 million according to figures reported by Deadline. That number is more respectable but still falls below what the studio and exhibition partners needed from a major holiday release.

For context, Despicable Me, the film that launched the entire franchise back in 2010 as an unproven new property, managed to gross $56.3 million domestically over its opening weekend. A sequel with the full weight of an established franchise behind it coming in near that same figure in 2026 is a difficult result to spin positively.

Why the holiday may have hurt the film

One mitigating factor is the calendar itself. The Fourth of July fell on a Saturday this year, which is typically one of the strongest days for theatrical attendance. Instead of drawing families to multiplexes, the holiday may have pulled them toward fireworks displays and outdoor celebrations marking the nation’s 250th anniversary. That dynamic is difficult to quantify precisely, but it likely suppressed ticket sales during what would otherwise have been a peak attendance window.

The film was not alone in struggling over the holiday weekend. Supergirl, the newest DC superhero film, suffered a brutal 74% drop in ticket sales in its second weekend, grossing just $9.6 million since Friday. That performance placed it behind Minions and Monsters, Toy Story 5 and Young Washington, an Angel Studios historical drama that managed an estimated $20.8 million over the Independence Day holiday.

International numbers offer meaningful relief

While the domestic performance disappointed, international markets told a more encouraging story. Minions and Monsters grossed an estimated $98 million internationally since Wednesday, pushing its total worldwide gross to approximately $159 million at the time of reporting. That global figure is significantly more encouraging and suggests the franchise retains strong international appeal even when domestic momentum softens.

The film carried an estimated production budget of $85 million. With theaters retaining approximately half of ticket revenue, the global gross already positions the film to turn a profit before accounting for ongoing theatrical runs, home video and streaming revenue. The financial picture is not the disaster the domestic opening might suggest on its own.

Toy Story 5 continues its remarkable run

Despite the holiday headwinds, Toy Story 5 proved its extraordinary staying power once again. The Pixar sequel grossed an estimated $31 million in its fifth weekend in theaters, placing it just behind Minions and Monsters for the weekend crown. That kind of hold in week five is exceptional by any measure and continues to position Toy Story 5 as one of the most remarkable theatrical runs of the year.

The contrast between the two animated films is striking. Toy Story 5 shattered franchise records on opening weekend and has held remarkably well through five weeks. Minions and Monsters, despite having a built-in audience and a major holiday launch window, landed well below expectations. The difference illustrates that franchise recognition alone does not guarantee box office results. Word of mouth, timing and cultural momentum all play crucial roles in determining how a film performs across its full theatrical run.

Source: Forbes / Deadline / The Associated Press