Box Office Report: Despicable Me 3 wins

Gru and the minions sure must be happy! Despicable Me 3 sits comfortably in the No.1 spot for this weekend’s box office.

The animated feature film earned an estimated $75.4 million in its opening weekend, bringing it ahead of its nearest competitor by at least $50 million. But while it’s enough to place first in the holiday weekend box office, this is only Illumination and Universal’s third best opening in the four-film franchise behind 2015’s Minions ($115.7 million) and 2013’s Despicable Me 2 ($83. 5 million), despite opening in 4,529 locations, the studio’s widest release yet. This slight downturn can also be noted in the movie’s CinemaScore grade which sees audiences give it an A-, rather than the usual A its predecessors and even Minions earned. Nonetheless, the next two days — and the series’ popularity with families — should push it over the $100 million mark domestically.

Internationally, Despicable Me 3 has already raked in $116.9 million from 52 territories for an estimated worldwide cume of $192.3 million. The film sees its lead villain-turned-hero Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) meet his long-lost twin brother Dru (Carell, again) and team up with him to work to take down Balthazar Bratt, a former ’80s child star who is looking to take revenge against the world. South Park‘s Trey Parker joins a cast which includes Kristen Wiig, Steve Coogan, Miranda Cosgrove, and Jenny Slate.

Finishing in second place this weekend, with an estimated $21 million, is Edgar Wright’s highly anticipated film Baby Driver. This marks Wright’s highest domestic box office opening as it more than doubles the opening weekend haul of Wright’s previous cinematic offerings, 2013’s The World’s End ($8.8 million) and 2010’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World ($10.6 million).

The chase-filled heist film, which has been lauded by critics and audiences alike (earning an A- on CinemaScore), stars Ansel Elgort as the titular “Baby,” a getaway driver for Kevin Spacey’s heist-planning crime boss who recruits him for one last job with a crew that involves Jamie Foxx’s Bats, Eiza Gonzalez as Darling, and Jon Hamm playing Buddy. Lily James (Cinderella) also stars as Deb, Baby’s love interest.

In third and fourth place this weekend is Transformers: The Last Knight and Wonder Woman, respectively. The fifth Transformers movie brought in an estimated $17.0 million, for an estimated $102.1 million total in its first 12 days at the box office. Its international haul of $68 million brings the film’s worldwide total so far to $429.9 million. Meanwhile, the latest DC Extended Universe movie has earned an estimated $15.6 million this weekend, for a domestic total of $346 million, officially making it the highest grossing DCEU movie in the domestic market. Wonder Woman‘s worldwide total sits at $708 million, having earned $361.8 million internationally as well.

At No. 5 is Cars 3. The Disney-Pixar film brought in an estimated $9.5 million in its third weekend out, after seeing a 60 percent drop in the North American market. However, in the two weeks since its release, the animated feature has tallied up an estimated $120.7 million in the domestic box office. The film’s international total is an estimated $53 million, despite having not opened in several major foreign markets including China.

Elsewhere in the top 10 is The House, an R-rated comedy from former SNL alums (and movie stars in their own right) Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler, which earned an estimated $9 million in its first week out from 3,134 locations. This is lower than expected for both stars, whose previous films, 2015’s Get Hard ($33.8 million) and Sisters ($13.9 million) both managed to crack double digits their opening weekends and then go on to earn $111.8 million and $105 million, respectively. The comedy is also lower rated by audiences (B- on CinemaScore) compared to both previous films’ B grades. The film sees Ferrell and Poehler play a couple who loses their daughter’s college fund only to start up an illegal gambling den in their house to win all the money back.

Going into wider release is The Beguiled, which manages to land at No. 8 with estimated earnings of $3.2 million. The film, directed by Sofia Coppola, is a remake of the 1971 film of the same name and sees an all-girls boarding school in the South take in an injured Union soldier (Colin Farrell) and tend to him as the ladies form rivalries and compete for his affections. The film also stars Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, and Elle Fanning.

Outside the top 10, The Big Sick continues to do well after a limited release last week. The film earned an estimated $1.67 million from 71 locations, with a per theater average of $23,550. Domestically the film has earned an estimated total of $2.2 million. It stars Silicon Valley‘s Kumail Nanjiani as a Pakistani comedian who falls for Emily, an American graduate student (Ruby Sparks‘ Zoe Kazan) who falls ill and goes into a coma. Kumail, who’d broken up with Emily on the basis of his conservative Muslim parents’ expectation that he have an arranged marriage, then begins to bond with her parents (played by Ray Romano and Holly Hunter).

Also performing well this weekend is The Little Hours, with an estimated earning of $61,560 from only 2 locations, making its per screen average ($30,780) one of the highest limited theatrical openings of the year so far. The movie is loosely based on Boccaccio’s sex-filled tale The Decameron and follows the story of a young servant (Dave Franco) who takes refuge at a convent filled with sexually frustrated nuns in a bid to escape his master. The film’s impressive comedic cast includes GLOW‘s Alison Brie, Kate Micucci, Aubrey Plaza (who also produced the movie), John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Fred Armisen, Jemima Kirke, Nick Offerman, Adam Pally, and Lauren Weedman.

Per ComScore, overall box office is dead even with the same frame from last year. Check out the June 30 – July 2 box office figures below.

1 – Despicable Me 3 – $75.4 million
2 – Baby Driver – $21 million
3 – Transformers: Last Knight – $17 million
4 – Wonder Woman – $15.6 million
5 – Cars 3 – $9.5 million
6 – The House – $9 million
7 – 47 Meters Down – $4.7 million
8 – The Beguiled – $3.3 million
9 – The Mummy – $2.8 million
10 – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales – $2.4 million