‘Minions’ Set Box Office On Fire With $108.5 Million Debut

etcanada.com:

Families went bananas for Minions this weekend at the movie theater. “ Minions: The Rise of Gru ” brought in an estimated $108.5 million in ticket sales from 4,391 screens in North America, Universal Pictures said Sunday.

By the end of the Monday’s July Fourth holiday, it will likely have earned over $127.9 million. The film is on track to become one of the biggest openings ever for a July Fourth holiday weekend, a record previously held by “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” which made $115.9 million in its first four days in 2011.

Including international showings, where “Minions: The Rise of Gru” is playing in 61 markets, its worldwide gross is sitting at $202.2 million through Sunday. “It’s a tremendous debut,” said Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic distribution. “It’s playing very broadly across North America.

Every single market doing extraordinarily well.” READ MORE: The Minions Are Up To No Good in New ‘Minions: The Rise Of Gru’ Teaser This is just the latest in a string of successes for Universal’s family releases, including “Sing 2,” which has grossed over $406 million since opening in December, and “The Bad Guys,” which has made over $243 million. “Minions: The Rise of Gru” serves as further proof that family audiences are willing to go back to the movie theater. “Families feel very comfortable bringing all their kids to the theater,” Orr said. “These results speak for themselves.” “Minions 2” attracted all ages to the theater, even the very young.