411 Box Office Report: Minions & Monsters Disappoints But Still Takes #1

Minions & Monsters fell far short of expectations at the box office this weekend, but it still managed to take the top spot. The Universal animated sequel grossed $36.4 million over the three-day frame, well below even the lowered expectations of $50 million heading into its opening. That makes it the lowest opening for a film in either the Despicable Me or Minions spinoff franchise; the main franchise’s previous low was $56.4 million for the first film, while the previous Minions low was $107.1 million for Minions: The Rise of Gru.

There’s going to be a lot of “what went wrong?” going on here, but the answer is fairly simple: it went up against Toy Story 5 in only its third weekend. That split the family audience over the fourth of July weekend, a weekend that is not always great for box office — particularly for family films. Yes, we had a similar situation two years ago when Despicable Me 4 faced Inside Out 2’s third weekend and grossed $75 million, but it’s important to note that the fourth of July fell on a Thursday which does make a difference. Minions & Monsters had its lowest day on Saturday, which is supposed to be a day where you rake in the money when you’re a family film.

Minions & Monsters scored solid to good numbers from critics and fans, with a 91% aggregate critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, a 75% RT audience score, and an A- CinemaScore. But “good” is relative when we talk about that CinemaScore; it’s still below the first two Minions which had an A. And Minions: The Rise of Gru had an 89% RT audience rating.

All this to say that Minions & Monsters is a disappointment — but not a bomb. The film has totaled $61.4 million since Wednesday in the US, and $159.9 million worldwide. That is against a budget of “only” $85 million. The film will be profitable, even if it ends up finishing out perhaps in the $120 million range.

Toy Story 5 was down an expected 56% against the competition from the little yellow guys, adding $31 million to its tally. There’s nothing disappointing about this film, which is now at $366.3 million in the US and $764.3 million worldwide against a $250 million production budget. It’s easily on par for over $400 million domestically and perhaps as high as $420 million.

Angel Studios had their biggest hit in some time, taking advantage of the patriotic weekend to drive Young Washington to #3 with $20.8 million. That’s very solid and right about where it was expected to do coming into the frame. The number beats out The Sound of Freedom’s $19.6 million for the studio’s best opening weekend to date.

Obviously, this is a release date-specific win, but also a win for getting older audiences out to the theater. The over 55 audience came out in droves here for a film celebrating one of the founding fathers. The 60% RT critic aggregate didn’t hurt it, and the audience reaction (92% RT audience rating, A CinemaScore) helped drive word of mouth.

As is usually the case with Angel Studios, we don’t know the budget here. What we do know is that this is already a hit for the studio, with a sequel titled 1776 on the way. Young Washington’s legs are up in the air, as the word of mouth will fight the fact the tendency for films to drop after the related holiday weekend that they’re tied to. (see: romantic comedies post-Valentine’s Day). But $60 million should be a piece of cake for the film here.

Supergirl followed its disappointing opening weekend with a precipitous drop, down 74% to $9.6 million. That seals a fate that was already fairly set in stone at this point. The film has $58.5 million domestically and $100.5 million worldwide, so it has topped Shazam: Fury of the Gods’ domestic gross already, but it’s still a bomb against its $170 million. It should finish off its domestic total at around $80 million which is… not good.

Disclosure Day showed some strength in its fourth weekend, off just 27% to $6 million. The Steven Spielberg film has now totaled $105.3 million in the US and $216.6 million worldwide, good enough to be a minor success against a $110 million budget. It will close out around $115 million or so.

Obsession finally saw a bit of a drop after hitting home viewing this week. The wildly successful horror film was down 45% in its eighth weekend to add $5.3 million to its coffers. That puts the film at $245.3 million domestically and $403.1 million worldwide against a budget of just $1 million. It is on course for somewhere around $260 million.

A24 released an extended edition of Backrooms in theaters, allowing the film to drop by just 25% with $3.3 million in its sixth weekend. The liminal horror film now has $190.5 million stateside and $349.8 million worldwide. It’s still set to finish just under $200 million, a megahit against its $10 million budget.

Jackass: Best and Last fell 68% in its second weekend, grossing just $2.7 million. That’s close to the 65% drop for 2022’s Jackass Forever. The final film in the prank series has $13.8 million domestically and $19.3 million worldwide, so it won’t lose too much money against its $10 million budget but is not a hit in theaters. (It will be fine once it hits home viewing & Paramount+).

Scary Movie was down 63% in its fifth weekend, grossing $1.1 million. The horror spoof is a hit for Paramount at $105.9 million in the US and $223.7 million worldwide on a $30 million production budget. It’s close to the end of its run.

A24 claimed the #10 spot with The Invite. The Olivia Wilde-directed romcom took in a strong $800,000 from just 28 theaters, flying in on the back of strong reviews (95% RT critics score) and word of mouth (94% RT audience rating). The film will go wide next weekend, and we’ll have more to say about it then, but it is likely to be successful. No word yet on its budget.

Next weekend sees the arrival of not only The Invite, which should hit the high single digits, but also Disney’s live action Moana. That should take in around $60 million or more to start. Meanwhile, Evil Dead Burn is hoping for $25 million-plus.

Box Office Top Ten (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)

1. Minions & Monsters – $36.4 million ($61.4 million total, $159.9 million WW)
2. Toy Story 5 – $31 million ($366.3 million total, $764.3 million WW)
3. Young Washington – $20.8 million ($20.8 million total, $20.8 million WW)
4. Supergirl – $9.6 million ($58.5 million total, $100.5 million WW)
5. Disclosure Day – $6 million ($105.3 million total, $216.6 million WW)
6. Obsession – $5.3 million ($245.3 million total, $403.1 million WW)
7. Backrooms – $3.3 million ($190.5 million total, $349.7 million WW)
8. Jackass: Best and Last – $2.7 million ($13.8 million total, $19.3 million WW)
9. Scary Movie – $1.1 million ($105.9 million total, $223.7 million WW)
10. The Invite – $800,000 ($1.4 million total, $1.4 million WW)