Despicable Me 2 racked in more than $82.5 million over Fourth of July holiday weekend, surpassing "Toy Story 3" record of $141 million in its first five days and placing the animated family film at No. 1 box office spot
Universal made “Despicable Me 2” with a comparatively small budget of $76 million, but the weekend’s haul was beyond expectations; through the first five days of release, “Despicable Me 2” has made $142.1 million, the highest five-day debut on record for an animated film.
Three-fourths of the critics recommended “Despicable Me 2,” and 89% of fans enjoyed it, according to pollsters Rottentomatoes.com. The movie earned an A from fans, according to CinemaScore.
This weekend tickets sale firmly establishes “Despicable Me,” which stars Steve Carell as a diabolical villain turned stay-at-home dad, as a new franchise for Universal and Chris Meledandri’s Illumination Entertainment, the Universal-backed animation company, according to Fox News.
Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal, attributed the strong performance the film’s producer, wide-spread demand for summer family films, and, “above all, those teaming little yellow guys,” according to Fox News.
“The minions steal everybody’s heart,” Rocco told Fox News. “It’s a great time of the year to release a family film with broad appeal.”
Rocco said another “Despicable Me” film is a certainty and that that these yellow little guys will get their own spin-off in 2014.
