Minions: The Rise of Gru Box Office: Record-Breaking July 4th Weekend Opening Revised Slightly

Minions: The Rise of Gru is doing bananas at the box office. The Universal and Illumination animated movie, which already topped the Fourth of July holiday weekend with a reported $128 million from weekend estimates, actually scored a four-day opening of $125.2 million domestically. That includes $10.8 million from Thursday previews, and an estimated $48 million Friday, a $32m Saturday, a $26m Sunday. After adding an expected $18m on July 4 Monday, the worldwide tally will adjust to $220 million for the origin story of rising supervillain Gru (voice of Steve Carell). 

Following the $48m+ first day for Minions 2, a pandemic era-best for an animated movie, Monday’s estimate of $125m tops the Independence Day weekend record set by Paramount’s Transformers: The Last Knight with $115.9 million in 2011. 

Paramount previously held the record for the best PG family movie opening since the start of the pandemic with the live-action and CG-animated Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which raced to $72 million in April. 

Bolstered by family audiences and an army of “GentleMinions” — a viral TikTok trend of well-dressed Despicable Me fans turning out to theaters in formal attire — The Rise of Gru is also well-reviewed with a 72% “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes and a 91% approval score from verified audiences.

In Minions: The Rise of Gru, long before he becomes the master of evil, Gru (Carell) is just a 12-year-old boy in 1970s suburbia, plotting to take over the world from his basement. It’s not going particularly well. When Gru crosses paths with the Minions, including Kevin, Stuart, Bob, and Otto — a new Minion sporting braces and a desperate need to please — this unexpected family joins forces. Together, they build their first lair, design their first weapons, and strive to execute their first missions.

When the infamous supervillain supergroup, the Vicious 6, oust their leader — legendary martial arts fighter Wild Knuckles (Alan Arkin) — Gru, their most devoted fanboy, interviews to become their newest member. The Vicious 6 is not impressed by the diminutive, wannabe villain, but then Gru outsmarts (and enrages) them, and he suddenly finds himself the mortal enemy of the apex of evil. With Gru on the run, the Minions attempt to master the art of kung fu to help save him, and Gru discovers that even bad guys need a little help from their friends.

Featuring the voices of Steve Carell, Taraji P. Henson, Michelle Yeoh, RZA, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lucy Lawless, Dolph Lundgren, Danny Trejo, Russell Brand, with Julie Andrews and Alan Arkin, Minions: The Rise of Gru is now playing exclusively in theaters.