Despicable Me 4 Tops A Shrek Franchise Record With No. 1 Box Office Debut

The "Despicable Me" franchise now has more No. 1 box office debuts than any other animated franchise, having surpassed the previous record of five No. 1 movies established by "Shrek" and its sequels and spin-offs. Of the six "Shrek" and "Shrek"-adjacent movies released so far, "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" was the only one not to debut in first place (and it still went on to become a box office hit). 

"Despicable Me 4" arrived in theaters on Wednesday this week and is on track to gross $120 million over its five-day extended opening, per Deadline. The record of six movie launches at the top of the box office charts includes the spin-off "Minions" and its sequel "Minion: The Rise of Gru," which capitalized on the popularity of supervillain (now former supervillain) Gru's army of little yellow lackeys. In fact, "Minions" is still the most successful movie in the franchise, grossing a staggering $1.15 billion at the box office in 2015. The series has been particularly successful at the international box office, perhaps because the Minions' made-up nonsense speech transcends language barriers and packs the humor into visual gags instead of dialogue.

According to The Wrap, "Despicable Me 4" is expected to continue that trend with a total global haul of $225 million by the end of Sunday. Domestically, the movie will score an estimated $72.4 million three-day opening weekend after grossing $27 million on Friday, which puts it roughly on par with 2017's "Despicable Me 3." That movie went on to gross more than a billion dollars worldwide, and even if this latest sequel doesn't hit those heights, it's already looking like another big hit for Illumination.

The arrival of "Despicable Me 4" means that "Inside Out 2" has finally been knocked down to second place after three consecutive weekends at the top of the box office charts. Despite the fresh competition from another animated family movie, however, "Inside Out 2" is by no means out of the race. After passing $1 billion worldwide last weekend, Pixar's latest is on track to add another $33.1 million to its domestic total this weekend according to Deadline — a drop of just 42%. We can expect both that and "Despicable Me 4" to be pretty leggy over the summer as parents seek out summer entertainment options for kids on break from school.

Meanwhile, a fresh bit of grown-up fare landed in theaters this weekend: "MaXXXine," the closing chapter of Ti West's horror trilogy. Mia Goth once again returns to star in this slasher tale set against the sleazy backdrop of 1980s Hollywood. The movie enjoyed a bit of smaller-scale success, scoring the best debut in the trilogy yet with an estimated $8 million opening weekend (compared to $4.2 million for "X" and $3.1 million for "Pearl"). 

"MaXXXine" didn't quite manage to outdo "A Quiet Place: Day One," though. That horror prequel is on track to add another $21.3 million in its second weekend, proving that silence really is golden.