NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� After first half of the year, the box office is suddenly booming.
the Illumination Animation sequel, led the way over the holiday weekend with $75 million in ticket sales Friday through Sunday and $122.6 million since opening on Wednesday, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The Independence Day holiday weekend haul for the Universal Pictures release further extends the considerable box-office reign of the Minions, And it also kept a summer streak going for Hollywood.
Though overall ticket sales were down more than 40% from levels prior to the COVID 19 pandemic, heading into the summer moviegoing season, theaters have lately seen a succession of hits. After Sony鈥檚 , Pixar鈥檚 鈥淚nside Out 2鈥� worldwide, making it the first release since 鈥淏arbie鈥� to reach that mark. Last weekend, the Paramount prequel 鈥淎 Quiet Place: Day One鈥� also came in above expectations.
With 鈥淒eadpool & Wolverine鈥� tracking for a $160 million launch later this month, Hollywood鈥檚 summer is looking up.
鈥淚f you look at the mood of the industry about eight weeks ago, very different than today,鈥� says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. 鈥淭he song says what a difference a day makes. What a difference a month has made.鈥�
It helps to have the Minions at your disposal. Since first debuting in the 2010 original 鈥淒espicable Me,鈥� each entry of the franchise 鈥� including two sequels and two 鈥淢inions鈥� spinoffs 鈥� has been seemingly guaranteed to gross around $1 billion. The four previous movies all made between $939 million (2022鈥檚 鈥淢inions: Rise of Gru鈥�) and $1.26 billion (2015鈥檚 鈥淢inions鈥�) globally.
That run has helped give Illumination founder and chief executive Chris Meledandri one of the most enviable track records in Hollywood. 鈥淒espicable Me 4,鈥� directed by Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage, returns the voice cast led by Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig and doubles down on more Minion mayhem. Reviews (54% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) weren鈥檛 particularly good for the latest installment, which includes a witness protection plot and a group of Minions transformed into a superhero squadron. But in their 12-year run, little has slowed down the Minions.
鈥淭his is one of the most beloved franchises, quite frankly, in the history of film, and certainly animation,鈥� said Jim Orr, distribution chief for Universal. 鈥淐hris Meledandri and Illumination have their finger on the pulse of what families and audiences around the world want to see.鈥�
Family movies are powering the box office. 鈥淒espicable Me 4鈥� performed strongly despite the still considerable drawing power of In its fourth weekend of release, the Pixar sequel added another $30 million domestically and $78.3 million overseas.
鈥淚nside Out 2,鈥� with $1.22 billion in ticket sales thus far, is easily the year鈥檚 biggest hit and fast climbing up the all-time ranks for animated releases. It currently ranks as the No. 5 animated release worldwide.
Instead of cannibalizing the opening weekend for 鈥淒espicable Me 4,鈥� 鈥淚nside Out 2鈥� may have helped get families back in the habit of heading to theaters.
鈥淲hat happened, I think, is the release calendar finally settled into a nice rhythm,鈥� said Dergarabedian, referencing the jumbled movie schedule from 鈥淚t鈥檚 all about momentum.鈥�
The continued strong sales for 鈥淚nside Out 2鈥� were enough to put the film in second place for the domestic weekend. Last week鈥檚 top new film, 鈥淎 Quiet Place: Day One,鈥� slid to third with $21 million in its second weekend, with another $21.1 million from overseas theaters. That was a steep decrease of 60%, though the Paramount prequel has amassed $178.2 million worldwide in two weeks.
The run of hits has caused some studios to boost their forecasts for the summer movie season. Heading into the most lucrative season at theaters, analysts were predicting a $3 billion summer, down from the more typical $4 billion mark. Now, closer to $3.4 billion appears likely.
The weekend鈥檚 other top new release was the third in a string of slasher films from A24 starring Mia Goth. In 2,450 locations, 鈥淢aXXXine鈥� collected $6.7 million in ticket sales, a franchise best. The film, which follows 鈥淴鈥� and 鈥淧earl鈥� (both released in 2022), stars Goth as a 1980s Hollywood starlet being hunted by a killer known as the Night Stalker.
Angel Studios, which last year released the unexpected summer hit 鈥淪ound of Freedom,鈥� struggled to find the same success with its latest Christian film, 鈥淪ound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot.鈥� It debuted with $3.2 million.
didn鈥檛 do much to turn around its fortunes in its second weekend. The first chapter in what Costner hopes will be a four-part franchise 鈥� including a chapter two Warner Bros. will release in August 鈥� earned $5.5 million in its second weekend. The film, which cost more than $100 million to make, has grossed $22.2 million in two weeks.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淒espicable Me 4,鈥� $75 million.
2. 鈥淚nside Out 2,鈥� $30 million.
3. 鈥淎 Quiet Place Day One,鈥� $21 million.
4. 鈥淢aXXXine,鈥� $6.7 million.
5. 鈥淏ad Boys: Ride or Die,鈥� $6.5 million.
6. 鈥淗orizon: An American Saga, Chapter 1,鈥� $5.5 million.
7. 鈥淪ound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot,鈥� $3.2 million.
8. 鈥淜aiki 2898,鈥� $1.8 million.
9. 鈥淭he Bikeriders,鈥� $1.3 million.
10. 鈥淜inds of Kindness,鈥� $860,000.
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
