BOX OFFICE 7/5-7/7: "Despicable Me 2" Soars, "Lone Ranger" Bites the Dust

Over the long 4th of July weekend, Universal's Despicable Me 2 flew in way above expectations, hauling in a $142 million total since Wednesday, which sets a record for the biggest animated 5 day opening ever. The marketing dream that is the little minions were multiplied in this film, so you can credit the animating team for giving the kids what they wanted, I guess. Meanwhile, Disney's The Lone Ranger crashed and burned, with a $29 million 3-day, adding up to a $48 million total since opening, which is a disaster for a movie that cost $250 million to produce. The movie wasn't helped by dismal reviews (25% Rotten Tomatoes, 37 Metacritic), and limited audience appeal for a franchise that was last popular in the 1940's. Looks like Johnny Depp's appeal can only go so far- but international grosses, where he's an even bigger draw, are still to come.

TOP 5 3-Day:

  1. Despicable Me 2- $82.5 million
  2. The Lone Ranger- $29.4 million
  3. The Heat- $25 million
  4. Monsters University- $19.6 million
  5. World War Z- $18.2 million

In the holdovers, The Heat held on strong, for a gross of $86 million so far, and giving it a chance to make or beat the $169 million total of Bridesmaids, while Monsters U clearly had its thunder stolen by the minions, falling all the way to No. 4 from the top spot last week. And WWZ has held up very well over the last few weeks as America's disaster movie of choice, with a total of $158 million so far. Next up, it's Adam Sandler in Grown Ups 2 vs. Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim.