The minions captivated everyone and adults were very willing to do it again because it was so satisfying the first time around. 'No one could imagine that 'Despicable Me 2' would do this kind of business,' said Nikki Rocco, president for domestic distribution at Universal Pictures.īut 'a broad audience loved the original movie. Sales in international markets, where the movie started playing two weekends ago, stood at $151 million through Sunday, Universal said, for a worldwide total of $293 million. Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast Corp, spent $76 million to produce 'Despicable 2.' The studio unleashed a hefty marketing campaign, including a nationwide tour by a yellow minion blimp called the 'despicablimp.' His devoted group of workers, the goggle-and-overall-wearing minions, get more screen time for their slapstick antics and song-and-dance numbers. In the new film, Gru is a single father to three adopted daughters and becomes a spy for an anti-villain league. The movie is a sequel to the 2010 blockbuster featuring Steve Carell as the voice of the lovable villain Gru. From their debuts through Sunday, 'Despicable 2' earned $142.1 million, while 'Lone Ranger' grossed just $48.9 million, below pre-opening forecasts for at least $60 million.įamilies lifted 'Despicable Me 2,' which finished far above industry projections and achieved the biggest-ever five-day opening for an animated film. The two films began their box office battle on Tuesday night to grab moviegoers ahead of Thursday's U.S. The animated 'Despicable' sequel hauled in an impressive $82.5 million in the United States and Canada from Friday through Sunday, more than double the weak $29.4 million for Walt Disney Co's big-budget Western ' The Lone Ranger,' which stars Depp as the masked man's Native American partner Tonto.

The small yellow minions of 'Despicable Me 2' upstaged Johnny Depp at the weekend movie box office.

'Monsters University' premieres in Hollywood Sandra Bullock promotes 'The Heat' in Berlinīrad Pitt promotes 'World War Z' in Sydney Actor Steve Carell poses with two life-size minion characters while promoting his upcoming movie 'Despicable Me 2' in Los Angeles, California June 14, 2013.ĭepp attends premiere of 'The Long Ranger' in California

The lone ranger box office