Despicable Me 4 Shines at Holiday Box Office, Earning $27 Million

Despicable Me 4 hit theaters yesterday and already raked in $27 million on its first day at the box office. With Independence Day in the United States and the summer movie season in full swing, the film is attracting large audiences. Universal and Illumination have joined forces once more, following the 2022 success of Minions: The Rise of Gru. Steve Carrell reprises his role as the lead character, and families are flocking to theaters to catch the former spy’s latest adventure.

Initial projections for Despicable Me 4 estimate that the sequel will earn around $120 million over the long holiday weekend. While some may have expected a bit more from the fourth installment on its opening day, numbers are expected to rise as more people head to theaters today, many of whom have the day off work. The movie has also received an A CinemaScore from viewers who have already seen it, adding to its favor.

ComicBook recently spoke with co-directors Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage about the surprising superhero inspirations in this story. They anticipated that both kids and adults would respond well to the visual language of the superpowers in the film. Interestingly, Despicable Me has managed to incorporate elements of Marvel’s First Family into the DNA of the Minions too.

“I know for me, I was definitely thinking about simple powers that are very graphic and easily understood. We talked about a lot of things, but I think knowing the amount of screen time we had, which wasn’t much, we went with very kind of archetypal powers sort of in the vein and the look of the Fantastic Four,” Renaud shared. “Their powers aren’t exactly the Fantastic Four, but one thing that I like as a comparison to that group is the Fantastic Four powers are slightly goofy. The Invisible Woman, the fire guy, the rock guy, there’s something about it. It works great as a comic, but the visual and graphic sensibility of those powers really lent themselves to the Minions.”

Families were bound to turn up for Despicable Me 4, and Illumination’s track record is proof of its allure. Here’s what Gru and his family are up against: “The biggest global animated franchise in history now begins a new chapter as Gru (Oscar nominee Steve Carrell) and Lucy (Oscar nominee Kristen Wiig) along with their daughters Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Madison Polan) welcome a new member to the family, Gru Jr., who is intent on tormenting his dad.”

“Gru faces a new nemesis in Maxime Le Mal (Emmy winner Will Ferrell) and his femme fatale girlfriend Valentina (Emmy nominee Sofia Vergara), and the family is forced to go on the run. The film features fresh new characters voiced by Joey King (Bullet Train), Emmy winner Stephen Colbert (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert), and Chloe Fineman (Saturday Night Live). Pierre Coffin returns as the iconic voice of the Minions, and Oscar nominee Steve Coogan returns as Silas Ramsbottom.”

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Source: ComicBook