Universal’s Minions arrives in theaters this weekend and is expected to debut at the U.S. box office with a massive $110 million over the weekend at 4,302 locations, according to analysts.
The 3D animated comedy, which cost $74 million to produce, grossed $6.2 million at 2,985 theaters at Thursday night showings. The film has already accumulated over $200 million internationally from 43 markets after opening Wednesday and Thursday.
The first Despicable Me debuted back in 2010 with a $56.3 million weekend and concluded with $251 million domestically, while 2013’s sequel launched with $83.5 million and grand total of $368 million domestically.
If Minions achieves its predicted numbers, it will become the fourth film this year to debut above the $100 million mark – joining Furious 7 ($147 million), Avengers: Age of Ultron ($191 million) and Jurassic World ($208.8 million). In addition, early forecasters are predicting the Despicable Me spinoff to become the second or third best animated opener in the U.S., behind 2007’s Shrek The Third ($121.6 million) and 2010’s Toy Story 3 ($110.3 million).
Directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, the film features Sandra Bullock as the head of the voice cast, playing the villainous Scarlett Overkill, with Jon Hamm also lending his voice to play Herb Overkill.
MINIONS Interview: Jon Hamm on Playing Herb Overkill
Another newcomer for the weekend is Warner Bros.’ The Gallows, which is expected to take in around $11 million at 2,720 locations. The found-footage horror film, produced by microbudget specialist Jason Blum, has already taken in $900,00 at Thursday night previews.
Gramercy’s sci-fi thriller Self/Less, starring Ryan Reynolds and Ben Kingsley, took in $325,000 at 1,600 theaters in previews. Analysts are predicting the film to gross in the $1.2 million range and a weekend total of about $3.1 million.
