The Minions are back for a three-peat
The Minions are still a box office force and original stories are scoring big, but not the R-rated comedy — even with Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler behind it. Studio estimates on Sunday say that Universal Pictures and Illumination’s “Despicable Me 3” earned $75.4 million over the weekend, while the former Saturday Night Live stars’ gambling comedy “The House” burned down. Featuring the voices of Steve Carell and Trey Parker, “Despicable Me 3” easily topped the holiday weekend charts from 4,529theaters in North America. While it’s a far cry from “Minions’” $115 million launch in 2015, and also lower than “Despicable Me 2,” which opened to $83.5 million in 2013, Edgar Wright’s original heist movie “Baby Driver” coasted to $30million in its first five days in theaters, with $21 million from the three-day weekend to take second place. Sony Pictures released the R-rated pic which stars Jamie Foxx, Ansel Elgort, Jon Hamm and Kevin Spacey and cost a reported $34million to produce. The well-reviewed romantic comedy “The Big Sick” also did good business in its expansion to 71 locations, earning $1.7 million. Rounding out the top five were holdovers “Transformers: The Last Knight” in third with $17 million, followed by “Wonder Woman” with $15.6 million and “Cars 3” with $9.5 million. Not so successful was suburban gambling comedy “The House” which landed in sixth place with only $9 million — one of the lowest of Ferrell’s career and the latest in a string of R-rated comedies to tank at the box office following “Rough Night” and “Baywatch.” Overall, the summer box office continues to struggle and is down nearly 8 percent from last year, while the year to date is close to flat. But the summer box office roller coaster may still have some surprises in store. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Final domestic figures will be released today.
1.”Despicable Me 3”: $75.4 million
2.”Baby Driver”: $21 million
3.”Transformers: The Last Knight”: $17 million
4.”Wonder Woman”: $15.6 million
5.”Cars 3”: $9.5 million
6.”The House”: $9 million
7.”47 Meters Down”: $4.7 million
8.”The Beguiled”: $3.3 million
9.”The Mummy”: $2.8 million
10.”Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales”: $2.4 million