Minions & Monsters Braces for a Bleak Box Office Debut

Let's face it, the world can't get enough of those yellow, gibberish-spouting chaos machines, the Minions. But with the next big outing—officially titled Minions & Monsters (or Minions 3 if you're trying to keep track)—Universal and Illumination might be in for a bit of a reality check, at least if you believe the early box office maths.

So, what's different this time?

The film's still got Pierre Coffin directing (and naturally, voicing the Minions—no one else could mumble like that), but instead of the usual hijinks, this round is set in the 1920s. Apparently, our cheerful little blobs have decided to break into monster movies—well, by literally summoning monsters rather than just dressing up, which feels about right for them.

The supporting cast is a weirdly eclectic batch: Trey Parker (yes, the South Park guy), Jesse Eisenberg, Zoey Deutch, and Allison Janney. So the voices on this one are all over the shop—in a way that could be brilliant or a total mess, depending how it lands.

Box office predictions: Not exactly world domination

Minions & Monsters is slated for a 1st July release—the peak of summer blockbuster madness—which might not do it any favours. According to the number crunchers at BoxOfficeTheory (via Reddit's r/boxoffice crowd), the forecasts for the domestic opening aren't exactly blowing anyone's socks off:

• US/Canada opening weekend (3-day): $53 million to $62 million
• Full US/Canada run: $248 million to $291 million

That 3-day estimate, by the way, probably looks even lower than it really is, since the film opens on a Monday—so all the holiday weekend business is spread over five days. Still, it's a notably tepid start compared to this franchise's track record; these films usually flirt with or clear a billion dollars globally.

For context, Despicable Me 4 kicked off with $75 million domestically (and ended up at $972 million worldwide in 2024), and Minions: Rise of Gru started at a towering $107 million domestically (ultimately $940 million overall). Even the original 2010 Minions film, which was considered a bit subdued, opened with $56 million in North America. So yes, something’s definitely different here.

Squeezed by the summer crush

If you want excuses (and Hollywood always has a few), there's no shortage of competition. The big one is Pixar's Toy Story 5, landing just two weeks earlier and projected to score a frankly ludicrous $130-$160 million domestic opening. That thing's expected to keep kids and parents busy for ages, likely leaving Minions & Monsters fighting for attention.

Then you've got Supergirl with Milly Alcock dropping the week just before, and some patriotic war drama (Young Washington) starring William Franklyn-Miller, Andy Serkis, and Ben Kingsley showing up on 3rd July, which Fourth of July cinema audiences might favour. For reference: the numbers people expect that one to do $23 million to $35 million on opening—possibly shaving a bit more off the Minions take.

The plot: Smashing Hollywood (but literally)

As you might have spotted in the trailers, this instalment is sending two new Minions—James and Henry—on a bonkers Hollywood comeback mission. Except, instead of just filming some cheap monster flick, they use an ancient tome to conjure up real monsters (as you do). Cue a pint-sized, Lovecraft-lite baddie named Goomi (actual full name: Gary Orkam Oliver Magma Ichabod the Deceiver—bit much, really) who then opens the door for a scene-stealing, giant, slimy, all-eyeball entity called Irene that wants to wipe out the planet. At which point, naturally, the Minions have to clean up the end-of-the-world horror show they've triggered.

"Because the movie comes out on July 1, over the long Fourth of July weekend, its domestic numbers will be spread across five days, which means that its three-day weekend figures will likely be lowered as a result."

With all that in play, nobody should be shocked if the Minions don’t break the bank this time round. Still, predicting box office runs is always a mug’s game, especially this far out, and these yellow mischief-makers have wriggled out of tight spots before.