Supervillain-turned-anti-villain-turned-crimefighter Gru and his gang of highlighter-yellow Minions are back to blow up the July 4 box office with the latest installment of the Despicable Me franchise. Universal and Illumination’s Despicable Me 4 seized $27 million on its opening day Wednesday, and is estimated it will make $120 million over the course of its five-day holiday debut. The newest Despicable Me is the fourth installment of the movie franchise, and the chaotic and charismatic Minions have two spin-offs. The combined Despicable Me/Minions series ranks as the top-grossing animated franchise of all time, and it looks like the seven-year hiatus since the last Despicable Me hasn’t minimized the Minion mania one bit. The ticket sales are in line with expectations and proof that family movies are rebounding after the COVID-19 pandemic caused a lull in theater attendance. The Minions are fighting to topple Pixar and Disney’s blockbuster film Inside Out 2 off of its box office throne, which has made $1 billion globally since debuting four weekends ago.
