Minions & Monsters North America Box Office: Tops Wednesday’s Domestic Chart With $14.2 Million Opening Day, Records Lowest Franchise Debut

- July 3, 2026 | 5:07 PM IST

Minions & Monsters, the third installment in the Minions prequel series and the seventh installment in the broader Despicable Me franchise, hit theaters on Wednesday, July 1, 2026. The film currently holds an impressive 90% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. On its first day, it earned $14.2 million at the domestic box office. And in doing that, the Pierre Coffin-directed animated comedy grabbed the top spot on Wednesday’s domestic box office chart and outperformed the Pixar juggernaut, Toy Story 5, which earned $7.9 million on the same day.

A Solid Wednesday Debut But The Lowest Franchise Opening

Even though a $14.2 million Wednesday opening is a solid debut for an animated film, Minions & Monsters has delivered the lowest opening day for the overall franchise. Let’s take a look at what the previous films in the franchise earned on their opening days.

Despicable Me Franchise – Opening Day Box Office (North America)

Despicable Me (2010): $21.3 million
Despicable Me 2 (2013): $35 million
Despicable Me 3 (2017): $29 million
Despicable Me 4 (2024): $27.2 million
Minions (2015): $46 million
Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022): $48.4 million
Minions & Monsters (2026): $14.2 million

Having said that, Minions & Monsters is the first Minions film to open on a Wednesday instead of a Friday. As of now, the film is projected to earn between $70 million and $80 million during its five-day opening weekend. However, the actual figures will become clear after the weekend.

Combined with its $12.1 million international earnings, the first-day worldwide total of Minions & Monsters stands at $26.3 million.

Minions & Monsters – Box Office Summary

North America: $14.2 million
International: $12.1 million
Worldwide: $26.3 million

The Worldwide Total Needed For Break-Even

Although the film’s official production budget has not been revealed, reports suggest it was made on an $85 million budget. Assuming the reported budget figure is accurate, Minions & Monsters would need to earn an estimated $212.5 million at the worldwide box office to break even, based on the commonly used 2.5x multiplier rule. As of now, it needs to earn more than $186.2 million to achieve this target. Considering the franchise’s track record, it looks like the latest Minions installment shouldn’t have any trouble reaching that milestone.

What Is Minions & Monsters All About?

Directed by franchise veteran Pierre Coffin, the prequel is set against the backdrop of 1920s Hollywood and follows the Minions as they search for frightening creatures to make their monster movie. Later, they must team up to save the planet after unleashing monsters into this world.