‘Despicable Me 4’ tops July 4th box office with $20.4 million

©Universal Collection/Courtesy of Everett

Fireworks, BBQs and Gru. That’s how many Americans celebrated the Fourth of July when “Despicable Me 4” topped the box office, earning $20.4 million.

The film, the latest entry in Universal and Illumination’s blockbuster franchise about a domesticated former supervillain, earned $47.6 million in its first two days of release. It’s projected to take in around $120 million over the five-day holiday — an impressive result for a production that has a relatively economical (for an animated film) budget of $100 million. By contrast, many films by Disney and Pixar, Illumination’s main rivals, typically cost $200 million to produce.

“Despicable Me 4” brings back Steve Carell as Gru and pits him against his former “Anchorman” co-star Will Ferrell, who stars in a French film called Maxime Le Mal, and Sofia Vergara as Valentina, a femme fatale and Maxime’s main thrust. But the Minions (voiced by Pierre Coffin, a director who oversaw the past “Despicable Me” films), those manic, yellow creatures that have delighted children for over a decade, are the show’s superpower. Not only do they appear in the “Despicable Me” movies, but they’ve also anchored spin-off adventures and become Illumination mascots in the process. The animation house was able to build on the success of the “Despicable Me” movies, following up with hits like “The Secret Life of Pets,” “Sing” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movies”.

“Despicable Me”‘s main competition was from “Inside Out 2,” another animated blockbuster that brought back the brilliance of Pixar and Disney after the studios suffered a few missteps. The film earned $7.2 million on Independence Day, pushing its domestic total to $503.6 million. “Inside Out 2” is now the third highest-grossing animated film domestically; it is also the sixth-highest-grossing animated film worldwide, having earned over $1.07 billion.

Paramount’s horror prequel “A Quiet Place: Day One” took in $4.7 million on July 4, bringing its domestic total to $73.3 million, while “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot” from Angel Studios, the story of a Texas. the minister and his wife’s efforts to change the lives of children in foster care opened at $3.2 million. Kevin Costner’s “Horizon: An American Saga” rounded out the top five with $1.9 million. The expensive Western epic was partially self-financed by the “Yellowstone” star and is being distributed by Warner Bros. and New Line. Costner has already completed a sequel, which hits theaters in August, and is filming a third installment. Ultimately, he wants to make four films about westward expansion. However, “Horizon’s” dismal $16.7 million domestic debut, along with the terrible reviews it received, raised questions about the sustainability of its epic vision.

Last year’s Fourth of July was a muted affair, as faith-based drama “Sound of Freedom” earned $14.2 million to take on “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” the adventure series that grossed a disappointing 11 .7 million dollars during the holidays.

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