Minions Opens at No. 1 but Falls Far Short of Earlier Films in the Franchise

The filmmakers behind the “Minions” franchise have had one of their greatest fears come true: The most critically lauded film of the series has performed the worst at the box office, at least on its opening weekend.“Minions and Monsters,” beloved for its ode to old Hollywood, earned a 91 percent critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes but generated $36.4 million in sales in North America for the three-day holiday weekend and $61.4 million for the five days since its July 1 opening, according to Universal Pictures.That was a 62 percent decline from 2024, the last time a “Minions” movie was in theaters.The PG-rated animated film from Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment is still No.

1 for the weekend.But its opening ticket sales came in far lower than the earlier movies in the franchise.This is the latest of the “Despicable Me/Minions” films to be released around the July 4 holiday, with “Minions: The Rise of Gru” from 2022 hitting a high point with a $123 million in domestic ticket sales on its opening weekend.This year, the film was contending with the holiday landing on a Saturday, which often leads to a depression in the box office as moviegoers choose fireworks and barbecues over movie theaters.

Another factor may have been the World Cup, which Universal used as a significant promotional vehicle for the movie with a television spot featuring the French soccer star Kylian Mbappé facing off against the Minions villains on the soccer pitch.And then there is “Toy Story 5,” which in its third week, continues to perform well, clearly siphoning off some of the family audience with an additional $31 million.

Its total gross is now $764 million worldwide.Still, “Minions and Monsters” brought in $85 million internationally, putting its total gross at $160 million.And with a CinemaScore of an A- and a budget of $85 million, the movie is still likely to be a moneymaker for the studio.We are having trouble retrieving the article con...