Tiny yellow creatures are taking over the international box office.
“Minions: The Rise of Gru” ignited to $93.7 million from 61 overseas markets and notched one of the biggest pandemic-era opening weekends for an animated film in many of those territories.
Those returns take the fifth installment in Universal and Illumination’s popular “Despicable Me” franchise past $200 million at the global box office. In North America, “The Rise of Gru” debuted to $108 million over the weekend and looks to reach $127.9 million through Independence Day on Monday.
Outside of the U.S. and Canada, “Minions: The Rise of Gru” enjoyed the strongest showing in the United Kingdom and Ireland with $12.9 million, followed by Mexico with $12.4 million and Germany with $4.8 million. Other top-grossing markets include Spain with $3.6 million, Brazil with $3.2 million, Indonesia with $3.4 million and Argentina with $3.3 million.
Kyle Balda directed “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” which takes place in the 1970s as a young Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) attempts to get in with a group of supervillains. Alan Arkin, Taraji P. Henson, Michelle Yeoh, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Julie Andrews round out the voice cast.
Another Universal film, “Jurassic World Dominion,” crossed a major box office milestone over the weekend, stomping by $800 million globally. The film added $26.8 million from 72 markets between Friday and Sunday. To date, the dino action-adventure has grossed $493 million internationally and $824.5 million worldwide.
“Dominion” is one of the few Hollywood movies playing in China, where the film has grossed $131 million. The tentpole has also been popular in the U.K. and Ireland ($37 million to date) and Australia ($21.8 million to date).
Elsewhere, Paramount’s action sequel “Top Gun: Maverick” continues to crush box office expectations. In its sixth weekend in theaters, the movie generated $37 million from 65 markets, amounting to a staggeringly low 16% drop from the weekend prior. So far, the follow-up to Tom Cruise’s 1986 blockbuster “Top Gun” has grossed $544 million at the international box office and $570 million in North America. It’s only the second movie in COVID times to cross $1 billion in ticket sales.
Another holdover title, the Warner Bros. musical biopic “Elvis,” generated $15.7 million from 57 international markets, marking a solid 28% drop. Those ticket sales take the film past the $100 million mark worldwide, including $46.2 million from overseas territories. The film opens next in Korea on July 13 and all of Latin America on July 14.
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