“Minions” Stake Claim Over Dinosaurs at Box Office

By Kip Mooney • On • In News News 0

BOX OFFICE REPORT 

July 10-12, 2015(estimates from BoxOfficeMojo.com)

TOP 51. Minions ($115.2 million)2. Jurassic World ($18.1 million)3. Inside Out ($17.1 million)4. Terminator: Genysis ($13.7 million)5. Gallows ($10.0 million)

Of all the colossal contenders to the throne, it took tiny yellow creatures to bring down the dinosaurs. Minions, the Despicable Me spin-off featuring the colorful little blobs, decimated the competition. The animated feature took in an astonishing $115.2 million. That's a better start than either Despicable Me film, and gives Universal its third $100 million-plus debut this year alone, after Furious 7 and Jurassic World. 

The latter film and Inside Out weren't far behind. Minions still did better than Inside Out's mighty impressive debut earlier this year. That's not too surprising though, considering that Pixar's typically robust marketing campaign is nothing compared to Minions. Those yellow bastards have been on absolutely every product you can think of.

Terminator: Genisys fell short again. It's now made only $68 million, so $100 million domestic is probably out of the question, making it the lowest grossing film of the franchise (adjusted for inflation). The Gallows rounded out the top 5. $10 million is extremely minor for a summer flick, but consider the film only cost $1 million to make, it's already ahead of the game.

Outside the top 5: - This Weekend's Indie Champ: Baahubali: The Beginning, an Indian film about conflict between two brothers, averaged $15,148 on 236 screens. It almost made more than Self/Less, which played on 10 times as many screens.

- While Magic Mike XXL didn't do so hot last week, it had an XXL holdover, dropping a nearly unheard of 25 percent. Most movies, especially summer releases, are front-loaded and drop 50 percent or more in the second weekend.

- It took a while, but Spy finally crossed $100 million. That's better than last year's Tammy, but still not as strong as The Heat or "“ ugh "“ Identity Thief.

Next week: Minions' reign of terror continues. Despite competition from the latest Marvel movie and the comedy stylings of Judd Apatow, nothing's stopping them. I think Ant-Man takes the No. 2 spot with $50 million, while Trainwreck follows with $30 million. I'd love to be wrong.

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About Kip Mooney

Kip Mooney
Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.

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