Brent Lang Executive Editor Fireworks, barbecues and Gru. That’s how many Americans celebrated the Fourth of July, as “Despicable Me 4” topped the box office, earning a commanding $20.4 million.
The film, the latest entry in Universal and Illumination’s wildly successful franchise about a domesticated former supervillain, has earned $47.6 million in its first two days of release.
It is projected to gross roughly $120 million over the five-day holiday — an impressive result for a production that carries a relatively economical (for an animated movie) $100 million budget.
In contrast, many films by Disney and Pixar, Illumination’s main rivals, routinely cost $200 million to produce. “Despicable Me 4” brings back Steve Carell as Gru and pits him against his former “Anchorman” co-star Will Ferrell, who plays a French foil named Maxime Le Mal, and Sofia Vergara as Valentina, a femme fatale and Maxime’s main squeeze.
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