‘Despicable Me 4’ Tops July 4 Holiday Box Office With Mighty $122.6 Million, ‘MaXXXine’ Opens to $6.7 Million

variety.com:

Brent Lang Executive Editor Gru and the Minions set off fireworks at the box office as America celebrated its birthday. “Despicable Me 4,” the latest chapter in Universal and Illumination’s long-running franchise about a recovering supervillain who trades world domination for a family life, dominated the competition, earning $122.6 million over its first five days of release and $75 million during the three-day weekend.

The movie opened on Wednesday, allowing it to fully capitalize on the Fourth of July holiday. But “Despicable Me’s” appeal transcends borders.

Internationally, the film earned $106.9 million from 52 markets, bringing its global earnings to $229.5 million. Even better, “Despicable Me 4” carries a relatively economical $100 million production budget, which should make it very profitable for the companies behind it, to say nothing of all the Minions merch they will sell.

For context, films at Pixar and Disney, Illumination’s main rival, routinely cost $200 million to make. One of those Disney and Pixar productions, “Inside Out 2,” continued to be a box office juggernaut, nabbing $30 million for a second place finish.