Image: Illumination
In unsurprising news, Minions: The Rise of Gru has continued to be a summer success, with the film now recording a massive box office gross, and it’s still going strong.
Released July 1, Minions has had a spectacular ascension and impact on pop culture that far exceeded most people’s expectations. The infamous GentleMinions trend may just be to thank as Rise of Gru coolly rolls past $700 million at the global box office, proving animation is still a major player during summer movie season.
Off a reported budget of $80 million (double that for marketing, so $160 million), grossing such a high number will delight shareholders at Illumination and parent company Universal. The landmark $700 million also makes it the highest-grossing animated film since the pandemic began, and also puts a spotlight on Marvel’s recent stumble (by their standards) with Thor: Love and Thunder.
Rise of Gru still has quite a way to go to become the highest-grossing film of the year, with Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick earning almost twice as much ($1.3 billion), albeit having been in cinemas for longer. 2022’s movie trend so far has been a slight decline in public interest in Marvel properties, but nostalgia is clearly still in the air with Maverick’s successes.
Critically, Minions: The Rise of Gru has a calm 70 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, which is a big gain after its predecessor in 2015 saw a 55 percent rating. 2015’s Minions did however crack over a billion at the box office, which looks unlikely for its sequel to do.
Minions: The Rise of Gru is currently in cinemas,
