So we got Inside Out 2 potentially reaching $90M this coming weekend, Paramount’s Quiet Place: Day One north of $40M+ on June 28, and the July 3rd release of Illumination/Universal‘s Despicable Me 4 targeting a $100M+ over 5-days, likely more. Fingers crossed, but it’s momentum at the summer box office.
Why a Wednesday opening? Because depending on where the July 4th holiday lands, you’ll get Wednesday openings. The last time Universal debuted a Despicable Me movie on a Wednesday before July 4th was part 2 which came out in 2013. That made $143M over 5-days.
The last one in the franchise, Minions: Rise of Gru, came on lower on tracking than DM4 and that overperformed to a 4-day (Friday opening, July 4th on Monday) haul of $123M. DM4 is tracking with everyone I’m told, particularly men under 25. However, just because a movie arrives on tracking higher than its previous installment, doesn’t mean it always opens bigger. Part of the halo effect on social media was the memes of the ‘Gentle Minions’ for Rise of Gru.
Another long-holiday opening for a DM movie was Despicable Me 3 which opened to $99M over 5-days when July 4th fell on a Tuesday.
Illumination and Universal’s Super Mario Bros Movie won Deadline’s Most Valuable Blockbuster Tournament for 2024 with $559M in net profits after all ancillaries.