Despicable Me 4 Will Prove The Minions Are Box Office Gold Once Again

For nearly 15 years, the Minions have been gracing the silver screen, dating back to the original "Despicable Me" in 2010. In the years since, a multi-billion-dollar industry has sprung up around the little troublemakers, from anchoring Illumination's slate of animation to tons of merchandise; they're basically little yellow pieces of gold. The Minions are set to once again prove their worth as "Despicable Me 4" will open in theaters just in time for the Fourth of July holiday. With the help of Steve Carrell's Gru, we are likely going to see one of the year's biggest box office debuts.

"Despicable Me 4" will hit theaters on Wednesday, July 3. Universal Pictures is releasing it mid-week to get in on the long holiday weekend. Across the five-day Wednesday to Sunday stretch, the film is expected to pull in at least $100 million, per Deadline. That is pretty much in line with more recent industry estimates, which have the latest entry in the franchise taking in $61 and $74 million across the Friday to Sunday weekend stretch, per Box Office Theory. Mind you, this is one of those movies that feels like it could easily obliterate these tracking predictions. We've seen this happen frequently in recent years, particularly with family films. 2022's "Minions: The Rise of Gru," for example, set a record over the Fourth of July weekend taking in $107 million. That number grew to $123 million when accounting for the Monday holiday.

Similarly, Disney and Pixar's "Inside Out 2" recently demolished its tracking with a record-breaking $154.2 million domestic opening. The Pixar sequel recently passed "Dune: Part Two" to become the highest-grossing movie of the year worldwide. It is likely to pass the $1 billion mark by the time this movie hits theaters. The ridiculous success of "Inside Out 2" only serves to inspire confidence that Universal and Illumination are about to score another big hit with the first "Despicable Me" sequel in seven years.

The latest entry in the franchise sees Gru (Steve Carrell), Lucy (Kristen Wiig), and their girls, Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Madison Polan), welcome a new member to the Gru family, Gru Jr. Meanwhile, Gru faces a new enemy in the form of Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell) and his girlfriend Valentina (Sofia Vergara), who force the family to go on the run. The cast also includes Joey King ("Bullet Train"), Stephen Colbert ("The Late Show with Stephen Colbert"), and Chloe Fineman ("Saturday Night Live"). The film was directed by Chris Renaud, who directed the first two entries in the series.

As it stands, 2015's "Minions" is the biggest movie in the franchise, making a whopping $1.15 billion worldwide. Rather crucially, these movies tend to play very well overseas, with 71% of that money coming outside of North America. "Despicable Me 3," which is also a member of the $1 billion club, had a similar split. The #Gentleminions trend also helped make "The Rise of Gru" a $940 million hit in 2022. That's important to remember when it comes to the latest sequel, as it figures to do gangbusters business around the world. It's the bigger picture that really matters here.

Thankfully, this couldn't be coming at a better time. Before "Inside Out 2" came along, 2024 was suffering badly at the box office, with ticket sales lagging far behind 2023. Luckily, the tide is turning. "A Quiet Place: Day One" also looks to be a sizable hit for the horror crowd, sandwiched between two animated behemoths. Plus, "Deadpool & Wolverine" is just around the corner. Things are looking up, and the Minions are going to play a big part in this much-needed upswing.

"Despicable Me 4" hits theaters on July 3, 2024.