‘Minions & Monsters’ Earns $16M on Opening Friday at the Box Office

Universal and Illumination’s Minions & Monsters is dominating the Independence Day weekend box office following a robust Friday opening.

The animated feature raked in $16 million on Friday from 4,243 theaters across North America, securing the top spot for the day. Current projections indicate that the film could generate approximately $39.5 million domestically over the entire weekend, bringing its total North American gross to around $64 million shortly after its July 1 release.

On the international front, the film is also performing well. Estimates suggest it will add another $87 million from global markets by Sunday, establishing a strong worldwide presence in its opening phase.

Minions & Monsters continues Universal’s successful legacy with the Minions franchise. Previous installments have been major global successes, including Minions: The Rise of Gru in 2022, which grossed about $940 million worldwide, and Despicable Me 4 in 2024, which reached nearly $972 million globally. The original Minions film from 2015 remains the highest-grossing of the series, with over $1.15 billion worldwide.

The latest film transports the beloved yellow characters into a new setting. In this narrative, the Minions aspire to become filmmakers in the 1920s, seeking out monsters to feature in their homemade horror-style movie, blending their signature chaotic humor with a genre-focused adventure.

The voice cast features Pierre Coffin, who co-directs the film alongside Patrick Delage. Coffin is supported by a talented ensemble of voice actors, including Trey Parker, Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jeff Bridges, Jesse Eisenberg, Zoey Deutch, Bobby Moynihan, and Phil LaMarr. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Brian Lynch.

The strong opening positions Minions & Monsters ahead of several major competitors during the holiday weekend. In second place, Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 5 earned $13 million on Friday and is projected to reach around $32 million for the weekend, bringing its domestic total to approximately $367 million.

Third place went to Angel Studios’ Young Washington, which opened with an estimated $7.4 million on Friday and is on track for a $16 million weekend total. Warner Bros. and DC’s Supergirl followed in fourth with $3.6 million on Friday, continuing a significant decline after its earlier opening weekend performance.

Rounding out the top five is Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day, which earned $2.2 million on Friday and is expected to reach about $5.5 million for the weekend.

Despite facing stiff competition from various family and franchise titles, Minions & Monsters has successfully captured the broadest audience as it heads into the holiday weekend, continuing the franchise’s impressive history of box office success.

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