Minions Beat Out Lone Ranger and Tonto

Universal Picture’s Despicable Me 2 led the box office over the holiday weekend with $83.5 million bringing the film’s five-day start to $143.1 million. The start for the highly anticipated sequel claimed the third largest ever unadjusted Independence Day weekend debut (behind only the 2011 take of $97.9 million of Transformers: Dark of the Moon and the $88.2 million gross of 2004’s Spider-Man 2. Making the film’s start even more impressive is that like 2010’s Despicable Me; Despicable Me 2 was far less expensive than the typical computer animated film.

Gru (voice of Steve Carrel) and Lucy (Kristin Wilde) from Despicable Me 2. (Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures)

The audience breakdown for Despicable Me 2 skewed 60 percent towards female moviegoers and towards 55 percent towards moviegoers under 25, which suggests that the film could be relatively stronger on weekdays going forward.

Disney’s The Lone Ranger finished a distant second place with $29.2 million. The western starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer grossed $48.7 million in its first five days. The film’s performance was very disappointing, given both pre-release expectations and the film’s enormous cost. The PG-13 rated Lone Ranger lost out to the PG-rated Despicable Me 2 with family audiences.

Holding up was Fox’s The Heat. The R-rated comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy fell just 36 percent to place third with $24.8 million. Last weekend’s hold was especially impressive given that the film faced competition. Both Bullock and McCarthy have strong recent histories when it comes to holding power at the box office and it appears that The Heat won’t be any different. The Heat grossed $86.3 million in 10 days, which is very strong given the film’s modest price tag for a high-profile summer release.

Disney’s Monsters University took a massive hit from Despicable Me 2 as it fell 57 percent to place fourth with $19.7 million. On the other hand, Paramount Studio’s World War Z fell 38 percent to round out last weekend’s top five with $18.4 million and likely benefited a bit from moviegoers who were looking for a live-action Independence Day alternative. To date, Monsters University grossed $216.2 million in 17 days, which is in line with the higher end of expectations. Meanwhile, World War Z continued to outpace expectations with a 17-day take of $159.0 million.

Last week’s other new entry, Lionsgate’s Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain was off to a strong start with an eighth place take of $10.0 million. Through five days of release, the comedy concert documentary grossed $17.4 million. The timing of Let Me Explain is perfect for Kevin Hart, as the comedian will be transitioning into a leading actor in the very near future with upcoming films such as Ride Along and About Last Night.