Illumination’s next entry in the incredibly popular Despicable Me franchise, Minions: The Rise of Gru, smashed Independence Day box office records with an impressive $202M opening weekend.
The Minions franchise has become one of the biggest internet memes over the past few years, thanks in no small part to the film franchise’s monumental success.
The success of Minions undoubtedly played a part in Illumination gaining major movie deals, like the upcoming Super Mario film starring Chris Pratt.
Now, Minions: The Rise of Gru has smashed box office records for Independence Day weekend, bringing in over $200 million in revenue worldwide in just three days.
New Minions movie breaks box office records
Minions: The Rise of Gru set a new record for the highest-grossing film released during Independence Day weekend, dethroning the previous title holder, Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
Dark of the Moon released in 2011 and grossed over $115 million over the four-day weekend, while Minions: The Rise of Gru has cleared that record by nearly $100 million in just three days.
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According to reporting by Deadline, The Rise of Gru set “new milestones internationally with four markets scoring the biggest animation opening weekend of all time.”
Illumination’s major social media marketing campaign on TikTok likely played a big role in the film’s success, with many Minions-related trends skyrocketing in the weeks leading up to release.
The Rise of Gru’s success is another sign that movie theatres seem to be coming back to life, as Top Gun: Maverick and Jurassic World Dominion also boasted incredible box office performance.
In fact, Top Gun: Maverick quickly earned a place as one of the 50 highest-grossing movies of all time, barely beating out 2008’s The Dark Knight.
At the pace The Rise of Gru is going, there’s a chance it may also make its way onto that very same list.
