Illumination and Universal’s summer gamble paid off handsomely this holiday weekend as Minions & Monsters stampeded into the global marketplace with $62.6 million during its first two days of release in the United States, according to early estimates reported by Deadline.
The film, directed by franchise veteran Pierre Coffin and starring Steve Carell reprising his role as the lovably villainous Gru, was originally slated for a 2027 release before being pushed forward a full year — bumping Shrek 5 from its coveted release slot. The bold scheduling move appears to have paid off: audiences turned out in force over the July 4th holiday weekend, sending the minion-led spectacle toward what is shaping up to be a landmark domestic opening.
The crossover premise — pitting the beloved yellow henchmen against a gallery of classic movie monsters — proved irresistible to families looking for summer entertainment. Early audience surveys noted strong scores among children under 12 and their parents, with a reported CinemaScore of A from paying audiences on opening night.
The result continues a remarkable year for animated cinema. Earlier in 2026, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie became the first video game film franchise to surpass the $2 billion mark at the worldwide box office, combining with the original Super Mario Bros. Movie to make Nintendo’s plumbers the most commercially successful video game IP in film history. Minions & Monsters now has its sights set on similar stratospheric territory.
For Universal and Illumination, the opening represents a validation of the studio’s long-running strategy of owning the family animation space during peak summer weekends. The Despicable Me franchise has consistently been among the most reliable earners in Hollywood, and early tracking suggests Minions & Monsters could surpass the $800 million global total of Minions: The Rise of Gru from 2022.
Industry analysts note that the July 4th frame is historically strong for family-oriented blockbusters, and with little direct competition in the animated space through the rest of the month, the film appears positioned to dominate multiplexes well into mid-July. The next major test will come on July 10, when Disney’s live-action Moana opens and attempts to split the family audience.
“The minions have always been critic-proof,” noted one exhibition executive who declined to be named. “But this time, audiences and critics alike seem to be going along for the ride.” Whether the film can maintain momentum through the summer will depend heavily on word-of-mouth among its core audience — and so far, the signs are very positive.
