Minions & Monsters held the top spot at the North American box office over the July 4 holiday weekend, but the numbers came in noticeably lower than what Universal and Illumination had been targeting. Here is the full picture from opening day through the weekend estimate.
The film opened on Wednesday, July 2, without any Tuesday preview screenings and brought in $14.23 million on day one, earning an A- CinemaScore from audiences. Thursday added $10.8 million, taking the two-day domestic total to $25 million.
That figure immediately raised concerns, as it was roughly half of what Universal would have hoped for when the film was greenlit. Industry trackers at The Numbers noted ahead of the weekend that $50 million would count as a good three-day result from that position and that animated films can sometimes strengthen through the weekend, but rarely by a large enough margin to fully close that kind of gap.
The five-day domestic estimate, running Wednesday through Sunday, came in at $63.5 million from 4,243 North American theaters, falling well short of Universal’s own $80 million target. The three-day Friday-through-Sunday estimate stands at $38.5 million. Friday alone tracked at $16 million, making it the film’s biggest single domestic day so far and marking a 48 percent jump from Thursday, driven by families with the July 4 holiday landing on Saturday.
These numbers place Minions & Monsters as the lowest opener in the entire 16-year history of the Despicable Me and Minions franchise for both the five-day and three-day totals. The only comparable benchmark is the original Despicable Me in 2010, which posted a three-day opening of $56.3 million. Every July 4 release since then has performed significantly better. Despicable Me 2 opened to $143 million over five days in 2013, Minions: The Rise of Gru launched to $123 million over four days in 2022, and Despicable Me 4 matched that with $122.6 million over five days in 2024.
The domestic story is only one part of what is happening. After just two days in the U.S. and an early rollout across international markets, the film had already accumulated $62.6 million worldwide. The international running total through Thursday stood at $37.6 million from 69 territories. The film opened at number one in Germany, Spain, Poland, and the Netherlands. In China, where it opened on Thursday, it led the day with an estimated $4.6 million. Based on current figures, Minions & Monsters is expected to clear at least $101 million worldwide by the end of the weekend, with that figure continuing to grow as more international markets report.
Several factors worked against the film this weekend. July 4 falling on a Saturday is an unusual situation that disrupted the usual peak Friday evening attendance as families shifted their plans to the holiday itself. FIFA World Cup knockout-round matches took place throughout the weekend, pulling some viewers away from cinemas. Meanwhile, Toy Story 5, still running strongly in its third weekend, continued to compete directly for the same family audience.
Toy Story 5 is heading for an estimated $30 million three-day weekend in its third frame, bringing its domestic total to $365.3 million. Angel Studios’ new release Young Washington, a historical drama about George Washington timed to America’s 250th anniversary, opened on Friday and is outperforming projections with an estimated $16–17 million opening day.
The Minions franchise has historically generated more than 60 percent of its worldwide revenue from international markets. With the film playing in 71 territories by the end of the weekend, an $85 million production budget, and strong overseas momentum already building, its global run will determine just how profitable it ultimately becomes, even if the domestic opening is the quietest the franchise has ever had.
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