Cinema owners continue to have reason to celebrate after another solid weekend at the box office.
‘Minions: The Rise of Guru’ had a spectacular opening weekend at the box office, bringing in a record-breaking $125.1 million over the three-day weekend. That number was good enough to beat the action flick ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon’, which earned $115.9 million back in 2011 over the extended holiday weekend.
And while these ticket sales prove that families are still showing up to support movies, the sales also prove just how much a good meme can help as well. Teens across the country were showing up to screenings of the movie in suits, just to snap a photo with the hashtag, “gentleminions” — the trend was huge on TikTok. It’s not clear how much it boosted sales, but it certainly didn’t hurt.
David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, was super impressed with the numbers:
This is a sensational opening. Family animation, more than any other genre, has struggled to find its footing during the pandemic. This weekend, ‘Minions’ is breaking through and big animation is back in business.
Meanwhile, ‘Top Gun: Maverick‘ made another $25.8 million this past weekend, bringing its global total to a ridiculous $1.11 billion.
It’s good times at the movies.