The long Fourth of July holiday weekend was a box office extravaganza for Hollywood as Minions: The Rise of Gru scored a huge four-day opening of $125.2 million domestically, according to Monday estimates. (THR / Heat Vision)
The Rise of Gru is set to smash the record for the highest film opening over Independence Day, overtaking Paramount’s 2011 blockbuster Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($115.9 million over four days). (Variety)
Minions was originally set for release in 2020, but was delayed multiple times due to the pandemic. While other family films decided to go to streaming, Universal held Minions for theaters—a strategy that paid off handsomely this weekend. (CNN Business)
Still going strong in second place is Paramount Pictures’ Top Gun: Maverick, which made $33 million in its sixth weekend for a North American cumulative gross of $571 million. (LA Times)