Positive Update for Minions 3 Following Despicable Me 4’s Success

Universal and Illumination have officially announced Minions 3, continuing the adventures of the tiny yellow creatures, according to a report by Variety. This announcement followed the successful debut of Despicable Me 4 during the 4th of July weekend, which amassed $230 million at the global box office.

Minions 3 is set to hit theaters on June 30, 2027. The screenplay will be crafted by Brian Lynch, who previously wrote the first Minions film and The Secret Life of Pets. The movie will be directed by Academy Award-nominee Pierre Coffin, who helmed the first three Despicable Me films and the initial Minions movie. Coffin, known for voicing the Minions since their inception in 2010’s Despicable Me, famously voiced all 899 Minions in the first Minions film.

The production of Minions 3 will be overseen by Chris Meledandri, the founder and CEO of Illumination, along with Bill Ryan from The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Since their debut in 2010, the Despicable Me and Minions films have established themselves as the most significant animated franchise in history, collectively grossing nearly $5 billion. Minions: The Rise of Gru, released in 2022, set a high bar by earning $125 million domestically during its July 4 opening weekend. Despicable Me 4 followed closely, with $122.6 million in its domestic premiere, and it’s projected to earn over $30 million in its second week of release.

Illumination’s impressive track record includes 15 feature films with an average gross of $711 million each. The studio’s highest-grossing film to date is last year’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, with $1.36 billion. This success is followed by the first Minions film at $1.16 billion and Despicable Me 3 from 2017, standing at $1.03 billion. All three films rank among the 50 highest-grossing movies of all time. Additionally, eight of Illumination’s films are among the top-grossing animated films.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie leads the chart, while Minions sits at number seven. Its sequel, The Rise of Gru, ranks at number 15. Despicable Me 3 is positioned at number 10 with its predecessor at number 13. Other notable mentions include The Secret Life of Pets at number 20 with $875.46 million, Sing at number 34 with $634.15 million, and Despicable Me at number 46 with $543.1 million. Remarkably, Minions is the highest-grossing prequel in history.

The first Minions movie stands out as the first animated film outside of Disney or Pixar to gross $1 billion at the box office. It also holds the unique distinction of surpassing the $1 billion mark globally with a budget below $100 million and without a re-release, achieving this in 49 days (seven weeks). Furthermore, Minions was the first Illumination film to earn $100 million during its domestic opening weekend.

Creating animated movies typically takes much longer than live-action films. For instance, the directors of the first Minions film, Coffin and Chris Renaud, even developed the “gibberish” language spoken by the Minions, with each word translating to an actual term.

Illumination’s strategy of releasing their films around the fourth of July weekend over the past seven years has yielded great results. Their animated features regularly perform exceptionally well at the box office.

In addition to Minions 3, the studio also has plans for a sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, targeting an April 3, 2026 release. Given the ongoing success of their franchises and the introduction of Minions 3, it is highly likely that discussions or development for Despicable Me 5 are either underway or being considered at Illumination.

Source: Variety