5 Jul – It looks like people are still not over the cute banana-looking creatures, as it was revealed that "Minions: The Rise of Gru" was a smash at the box office over the weekend. The Universal and Illumination animated feature was revealed to have scored USD 108 million in ticket sales in the US, and an additional USD 93.7 million, bringing an estimated opening weekend of USD 202 million globally. This proves that families with younger kids are now returning to the cinemas, in contrast to previous belief following the lacklustre response for the Disney-Pixar spinoff, "Lightyear", which opened to a meagre USD 51 million last month.
"What this weekend has showcased is a triumphant return to cinemas by families, laying to rest any lingering and outdated pandemic narrative that parents and kids only want to watch movies at home," said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. He added, "When the right content is out there, people will show up." For the time being, Paramount's "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" still maintains the biggest opening of the pandemic era when it comes to family movies.