‘Despicable Me 4’ Dominates July 4 Box Office with Impressive $122.6 Million, While ‘MaXXXine’ Opens to $6.7 Million

Gru and the Minions set off fireworks at the box office as America celebrated its birthday. “Despicable Me 4,” the latest chapter in Universal and Illumination’s long-running franchise about a recovering supervillain who trades world domination for family life, dominated the competition, earning $122.6 million over its first five days of release and $75 million during the three-day weekend. The movie opened on Wednesday, allowing it to fully capitalize on the Fourth of July holiday.

Meanwhile, Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” continued its strong performance, earning $30 million and securing second place. The animated sequel about the emotional life of a teenage girl has become the summer’s biggest hit, with $533.8 million domestically and $1.2 billion globally, surpassing “Minions” to become the fifth highest-grossing animated release in history.

Paramount’s “A Quiet Place: Day One” catered to older audiences and earned $21 million over the weekend for a third place finish, bringing the horror prequel’s domestic gross to a stellar $94.4 million.

“What a difference a few heavy hitters can make,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at ComScore. “They really moved the needle and you can feel momentum building.”

This success bodes well for other major studio releases such as “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Twisters,” which are scheduled to open later this month.

The latest “Despicable Me” adventure brings back Steve Carell as Gru and introduces new foils in the form of Will Ferrell as Maxime Le Mal and Sofia Vergara as his partner in love and crime. The Minions, the adorable, anarchic, gibberish-spouting creatures, continue to capture kids’ hearts and have become Illumination’s mascots. When asked if there might be more “Despicable Me” movies and spinoffs in the future, Illumination’s Orr responded decisively, “Absolutely, particularly after a debut like this one.”