The animated film Minions and Monsters, from Illumination and Universal, has started more quietly than anticipated at the North American box office. In its first five days it grossed $63.5M (experts had been looking for roughly $80M). This marks the weakest opening so far in the Despicable Me/Minions line.
Over the U.S. 3-day weekend it pulled in $38.5M — enough to finish at No. 1, yet still at the lower edge of forecasts. Earlier franchise entries during similar holiday windows opened noticeably higher.
Now the studio will lean on intl. markets, where the Minions typically generate a majority of the franchise’s global take (i.e., >50%). Whether that will make up the difference remains to be seen.