‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ tops $108 million as parents return to theaters, kids in tow

The family has gone bananas for “Minions: The Rise of Gru.”

in the weekends, universal And ticket sales for the Illumination animated feature increased by more than $108 million.

The fifth film in the Despicable Me franchise grossed an additional $93.7 million from international markets, bringing its estimated opening weekend gross of $202 million globally.

“With the incredible success of ‘Minions’, the notion that family audiences were avoiding theaters due to COVID concerns may be dispelled,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore.

Box office analysts wondered whether this segment of movie watchers is still avoiding theatres. Disney And Pixar’s “Lightyear” grossed only $51 million during its domestic debut last month, $70 million and $85 million below expectations,

It was unclear whether “Lightyear” had a less than stellar opening due to stiff competition at the box office or if consumers were confused about the film’s release. After all, a Pixar movie hasn’t had a theatrical release since 2020’s “Onward.” The animation studio’s final three, “Soul,” “Luca” and “Turning Red,” were all released on the streaming service Disney+.

According to data from EntTelligence, “Minions: The Rise of Gru” represents 54% of all home movie watchers over the weekend, with 68% of ticket holders being part of family groups.

Sean Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com, said, “What this weekend has shown is the triumphant return to theaters by families, to put to rest any old and outdated pandemic narrative that parents and children can only play at home. But want to watch movies.” “When the right content is available, people will show up.”

The film is expected to add another $20 million in ticket sales in the US and Canada on Monday, bringing its holiday weekend total to $128 million.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is the distributor of “Minions: The Rise of Gru”.