Newly released Despicable Me 4 has smashed it at the box office, pushing rival Inside Out 2 off the top slot, despite the latter bringing in a cool $1 billion (€920 million) from global viewing.
Three weeks ahead of Despicable Me 4's release, Disney and Pixar topped the charts with their sequel to Inside Out, a story of emotions and an 11-year-old girl.
Then, on 3 July, Universal Studios released its latest minion tale and the battle was on. That's good news for the film industry which can enjoy a late-summer burst of activity after suffering a gloomy seasonal start.
Up until now, Despicable Me 4 has taken a total of $230.9 million (€213.4 million) across 73 markets around the world. Mexico was the leading international contributor, powering the movie into more than 4,000 cinemas and raking in $12.7 million (€11.7 million) despite 52 sites being affected by the region's Hurricane Beryl.
Many European countries reported that Despicable Me 4 was the biggest opening of the franchise: Spain ($5.6m), along with the Netherlands, Sweden, and Poland, which brought in $2.6 million each.
The movie was also successful in holdover markets such as Australia, where the global box office saw a 9% increase and earned a $16.2 million running total after three sessions since the first DM film. The movie remains neck and neck with Inside Out 2 in Chile and continues to surpass the totals of the second and third Despicable Me films.
The franchise also reeled $9.6 million from 655 Imax screens in 50 markets. North America leads most of these earnings at $20,500 per screen, totalling $8.3 million.
These figures are laying the foundation for a big DM4 premiere next weekend when the movie is expected to hit cinemas in Germany, France, UK-Ireland, and China.
Not only is Gru and his Minions' rise dominating the global box office, but the advertising scene is gaining as well. The franchise earned a spot in the June Olympic trials and the French Open and partnered with Germany's Volkswagen. The minions appeared in Volkswagen commercials, including a custom car wrap that premiered at the Frankenmuth Festival.
Inside Out 2 vs Despicable Me 4
The two films have rescued the global box office from falling flat in previous summers. The summer box office grossed $1.6 billion, 42% of the $4.03 billion reported from the box office last summer. The two movies have made this the highest-grossing summer season since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Inside Out 2 was the trailblazing film of 2024, surpassing Minions to become the fifth highest-grossing animated film in history.
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