Minions: The Rise of Gru smashes box office records with $202M opening weekend

Illumination’s next entry in the incredibly popular Despicable Me franchise, Minions: The Rise of Gru, smashed Independence Day box office records with an impressive $202M opening weekend.

TheMinions franchise has become one of the biggest internet memesover the past few years, thanks in no small part to the film franchise’s monumental success.

minions rise of gru screenshot header image

The success of Minions undoubtedly played a part in Illumination gaining major movie deals, like the upcomingSuper Mario film starring Chris Pratt.

Now, Minions: The Rise of Gru has smashed box office records for Independence Day weekend, bringing in over $200 million in revenue worldwide in just three days.

minions rise of gru screenshot

New Minions movie breaks box office records

Minions: The Rise of Gru set a new record for the highest-grossing film released during Independence Day weekend, dethroning the previous title holder, Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Dark of the Moon released in 2011 and grossed over $115 million over the four-day weekend, while Minions: The Rise of Gru has cleared that record by nearly $100 million in just three days.

Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick.

According toreportingbyDeadline, The Rise of Gru set “new milestones internationally with four markets scoring the biggest animation opening weekend of all time.”

Illumination’s major social media marketing campaign on TikTok likely played a big role in the film’s success, withmany Minions-related trends skyrocketingin the weeks leading up to release.

The cast of the Fantastic Four

The Rise of Gru’s success is another sign that movie theatres seem to be coming back to life, asTop Gun: MaverickandJurassic World Dominionalso boasted incredible box office performance.

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In fact, Top Gun: Maverick quickly earned a place as one ofthe 50 highest-grossing movies of all time, barely beating out 2008’s The Dark Knight.

At the pace The Rise of Gru is going, there’s a chance it may also make its way onto that very same list.