©Universal/Courtesy of Everett Collection
Fireworks, barbecues and Gru. That’s how many Americans celebrated the Fourth of July, when “Despicable Me 4” topped the box office, grossing an impressive $20.4 million.
The film, the latest entry in Universal and Illumination’s wildly successful franchise about a domesticated former supervillain, has grossed $47.6 million in its first two days of release. It’s expected to gross around $120 million over the five-day holiday period — an impressive showing for a production with a relatively meager (for an animated feature) budget of $100 million. By contrast, many films from Illumination’s chief rivals, Disney and Pixar, routinely cost $200 million to produce.
“Despicable Me 4” brings back Steve Carell as Gru, pitting him opposite his former “Anchorman” co-star Will Ferrell, who plays a French foil named Maxime Le Mal, and Sofia Vergara as Valentina, a femme fatale and Maxime’s main love interest. But it’s the minions (voiced by Pierre Coffin, a filmmaker who oversaw previous “Despicable Me” films), those highlighter-yellow, manic creatures that have entranced kids for more than a decade, who are the show’s superpower. Not only do they pop up in the “Despicable Me” films, they’ve also anchored spin-off adventures and become Illumination’s mascots in the process. The animation house has been able to build on the success of the “Despicable Me” films, going on to produce hits like “The Secret Life of Pets,” “Sing” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.”
“Despicable Me”‘s main competitor was “Inside Out 2,” another animated blockbuster that restored the shine to Pixar and Disney after the studios had made some missteps. The film earned $7.2 million on Independence Day, pushing its domestic gross to a massive $503.6 million. “Inside Out 2” now ranks as the third highest-grossing animated film domestically; it is also the sixth-highest-grossing animated film worldwide, having grossed over $1.07 billion.
Paramount’s horror prequel “A Quiet Place: Day One” took in $4.7 million over the Fourth of July, bringing its domestic total to $73.3 million, while Angel Studios’ “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot,” the tale of a Texas minister and his wife’s efforts to change the lives of foster children, opened with $3.2 million. Kevin Costner’s “Horizon: An American Saga” rounded out the top five with $1.9 million. The expensive Western epic was partially self-financed by the “Yellowstone” star and is distributed by Warner Bros. and New Line. Costner has already wrapped a sequel, due in theaters in August, and is currently filming a third. He ultimately wants to make four films about his westward expansion. However, the disastrous $16.7 million domestic gross of the first “Horizon,” combined with the scathing reviews it received, have raised questions about the sustainability of his epic vision.
Last year, the Fourth of July was a subdued affair, as the faith-based drama “Sound of Freedom” grossed $14.2 million, outpacing “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” the struggling adventure series that grossed a disappointing $11.7 million on the holiday.