Box Office: ‘Minions & Monsters’ Fizzles Over July 4th Weekend With Franchise-Low $61 Million Debut, ‘Supergirl’ Suffers Brutal 74% Drop
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- "Minions & Monsters" opened to $61 million over the five-day July 4th frame from 4,243 North American locations — the lowest debut in the "Despicable Me" franchise, well below the $80 million projection and prior entries' $122-123 million five-day launches.
- The 1920s Hollywood-set prequel, directed by series co-creator Pierre Coffin, scored a 91% Rotten Tomatoes rating and an "A-" CinemaScore despite the soft opening, and was produced for $85 million — cheaper than predecessors' roughly $100 million budgets.
- "Supergirl" collapsed 74% in its sophomore weekend to $9.6 million from 3,602 screens, putting the $170 million Warner Bros./DC film on track to lose at least $100-120 million theatrically given its weak $58.5 million domestic and $100.5 million global cume.
- Angel Studios' "Young Washington," timed to America's 250th anniversary, opened to an impressive $20.8 million from 2,700 theaters with an "A" CinemaScore, though critics gave it just 57% on Rotten Tomatoes.
- "Toy Story 5" held strong with $31 million over the Friday-Sunday stretch in its fifth weekend, lifting its domestic total to $366 million and worldwide gross to $764 million.
- International audiences provided a bright spot for "Minions & Monsters," generating $86 million overseas over the weekend and a $159.8 million worldwide total — and analyst David A. Gross said audience fatigue after seven franchise installments in 16 years explains the domestic shortfall.
Why it matters: After seven "Despicable Me" chapters in 16 years, Universal/Illumination's animated juggernaut hit a franchise-low debut despite stellar reviews, suggesting the saturation point analyst David A. Gross flagged has arrived. For Warner Bros., "Supergirl" is heading toward a $100M+ theatrical loss that reinforces the pattern seen with Marvel's "Thunderbolts": superhero films built around lesser-known protagonists are struggling even as A-list hero films ("Superman," "Spider-Man: Brand New Day") continue to perform.
