Minions (voice of Pierre Coffin) in "Despicable Me 4."
Despicable Me 4 rolled over Inside Out 2 over the long 4th of July weekend to become the new No. 1 film at the domestic box office.
According to Variety, the latest animated film in Universal Pictures/Illumination Entertainment’s Despicable Me franchise—which also includes two Minions movies—is estimated to earn $122.6 million in ticket sales in 4,428 North American theaters in its first five days.
Per Variety, Despicable Me 4 earned $47.6 million on Wednesday and Thursday, and is estimated to take in another $75 million from Friday-Sunday. The movie’s Wednesday and Thursday tally alone proved to be enough to knock Inside Out 2 out of the No. 1 spot at the domestic box office.
Despicable Me 4 stars the voices of Steve Carell as Gru, Kristen Wiig as Lucy and Pierre Coffin as the Minions. Will Ferrell also stars in the voice cast as Gru’s new nemesis, Maxime, who has harnessed the power of cockroaches.
Despicable Me 4 has a production budget of $100 million before prints and advertising, Variety noted. With film’s projected $120 million five-day start, things are looking good for the long-term box office prospects of Despicable Me 4.
Of course, Despicable Me 4 needs to deliver big given the success of the franchise’s predecessors. According to The Numbers, the first five films in the Despicable Me franchise have made more than $4.6 billion to date.
If this weekend’s opening is any indication, Despicable Me 4 appears to be well on its way. Adding $106.9 million in international ticket sales this weekend to the film’s domestic tally, Despicable Me 4 earned $229.5 million in its opening frame.
Meanwhile, Disney’s Inside Out 2—which has been dominating the domestic box office since its June 14 opening—is heading toward No. 2 finish with an estimated $30 million Friday-Sunday take in 3,760 theaters, per Variety.
If the estimate holds, Inside Out 2 will end the weekend with $533.8 million in domestic ticket sales. Among the stars voicing the emotions in the Inside Out sequel are Amy Poehler, Ayo Edebiri, Maya Hawke and Lewis Black. Along with international ticket sales, Inside Out 2 has earned $1.22 billion globally to date.
Mia Goth in "MaXXXine."
Horror Thriller ‘MaXXXine’ Debuts In Top 5
Last weekend’s No. 2 film—A Quiet Place: Day One—is expected to finish at No. 3 with $21 million in ticket sales Friday-Sunday at 3,708 North American theaters, Variety noted.
The horror thriller—which stars Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn as survivors of an alien attack in New York City—earned $53 million in its opening weekend. If this weekend’s estimate holds, the Paramount Pictures-produced Quiet Place prequel will have a domestic tally of $94.4 million by Sunday. Combined with its international ticket sales, A Quiet Place: Day One has earned $360.2 million to date.
Writer-director Ti West’s horror thriller MaXXXine appears to be heading toward a No. 4 finish at the domestic box office in its opening weekend.
According to Variety, MaXXXine—which is the third and final film in West and producer/star Mia Goth’s X horror film trilogy—earned an $6.7 million in ticket sales in 2,450 theaters from Friday-Sunday. The tally does not include Wednesday night previews for the A24 release.
Goth reprises her X role of Maxine Minx in MaXXXine, which is set in Los Angeles in 1985 as the real-life serial killer the Night Stalker is terrorizing the city. MaXXXine also stars Elizabeth Debicki, Giancarlo Esposito, Moses Sumney, Kevin Bacon, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey and Lily Collins.
Sony Pictures Entertainment estimates the Will Smith and Martin Lawrence action crime comedy Bad Boys: Ride or Die will earn nearly $6.5 million at the domestic box office from Friday-Sunday to finish at No. 5.
If the estimate holds, the domestic tally for the fourth film in the Bad Boys franchise will be $177.4 million through Sunday. Sony noted that along with this weekend’s haul, Bad Boys: Ride or Die’s international tally is $182.8 million to date, bringing its cumulative worldwide box office total to more than $360.2 million.
Also new in theaters this weekend is Angel Studios’ faith-based movie Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot, which opened in 2,250 theaters. Per Variety, the film is projected to take in $3.5 million from Friday-Sunday.
Along with the film’s opening day tally on Thursday, Sound of Hope is projected to make $6.8 million in domestic ticket sales by Sunday, the trade publication reports.
Note: This report has been updated with international box office estimates. The final numbers for the weekend box office will be released on Monday.