©Universal/Courtesy of Everett Group
Gru and his gang of henchmen are setting off fireworks at the box office this Independence Day.
“Despicable Me 4,” the latest installment in Universal and Illumination’s wildly successful animated series, took in $27 million on Wednesday. Steve Carell returns as Gru, the recovering supervillain turned secret agent, and faces off against Will Ferrell as French villain Maxime Le Malle. The henchmen, those chaotic yellow creatures, are the biggest draw, however, having starred not only in the “Despicable Me” movies but also in a series of spinoffs. “Despicable Me 4” is expected to take in close to $120 million over the five-day weekend.
The strong showing is good news for theaters, which have had a painful start to the summer after promising films like “The Fall Guy” and “Furiosa” failed to deliver. However, things are starting to turn around as audiences return to see Disney/Pixar’s “Inside Out 2,” Sony’s “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” and Paramount’s “A Quiet Place: Day One” over the past few weeks. On Wednesday, “Inside Out 2” took in $7.1 million, boosting its domestic total to $496.5 million. The sequel is now the third-highest-grossing animated film domestically and is expected to cross the $500 million mark on Thursday, surpassing another milestone. “A Quiet Place: Day One” took in $4.4 million, boosting its domestic total to $68.6 million. “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” took in $1.2 million, boosting its domestic total to $169.1 million.
Elsewhere, Kevin Costner’s “Horizon: An American Saga” took in $1.1 million. The financial disaster has so far grossed $14.8 million after its first week in theaters. Costner, who produced, co-wrote and starred in “Horizon,” partially financed the multi-part production. Despite the audience’s rejection, the second part is scheduled for release in August, and filming has begun on the third.
The “Despicable Me” franchise has become almost synonymous with the Fourth of July. The 2022 spinoff “Minions: The Rise of Gru” also opened in that area of the calendar, breaking records to become the highest-grossing film to debut during the holiday with a five-day $123 million. Other films in the series, including 2017’s “Despicable Me 3” ($99 million debut), 2013’s “Despicable Me 2” ($83.5 million debut) and 2010’s “Despicable Me” ($56 million debut), all opened in the same holiday window.
Last year, the Fourth of July box office was a race between “Indiana Jones and the Pill of Destiny,” a flop that marked the end of a once-great franchise, and “The Voice of Freedom,” a low-budget faith-based film that was an unexpected commercial success.
Despicable Me 4 was directed by Chris Renaud, one of the series’ most prominent directors, and co-directed by Patrick Delage. In addition to Carell and Ferrell, the voice cast includes Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Joey King, Miranda Cosgrove, Steve Coogan, Sofia Vergara, and Stephen Colbert.
