“Minions & Monsters,” the seventh film in the multi-billion-dollar “Despicable Me” franchise, arrives on digital streaming this week following an underwhelming run at the box office.
Directed by Pierre Coffin, Minions & Monsters opened in theaters on July 1. The film serves as a prequel story, which tracks the origin of the Minions (voice of Coffin) and their work for various evil bosses, long before the days of Gru (Steve Carell) in the Despicable Me movies. The bulk of the movie is set in 1920s Hollywood, where the Minions accidentally become the biggest stars in Tinseltown before the group’s reign ends with the introduction of talkies.
Trying to find a way back into the business, the Minions, thanks to a book of spells they held onto from an earlier evil genius, create a batch of creatures to make their own monster movie. The problem is, the monsters have a plan of their own for world domination, so suddenly the Minions need to find a way to defeat their monolithic creations.
Rated PG, Minions & Monsters also stars the voices of Allison Janney, Jeff Bridges, Jesse Eisenberg, Trey Parker, Bobby Moynihan, Phil LaMarr, Zoey Deutsch, Christoph Waltz and George Lucas in a cameo role.
Minions & Monsters earned $62 million domestically in its first five days of release over the 4th of July weekend holiday, with $37 million of that total coming in the film’s opening Friday to Sunday frame at 4,243 North American theaters. As of Aug. 6, Minions & Monsters has earned nearly $172.9 million domestically and $289 million internationally for a worldwide box office tally of $461.9 million.
‘Minions & Monsters’ Is Currently Behind The Lowest-Grossing Film Of The Franchise
Before Minions & Monsters, the smallest worldwide box office take for the Despicable Me franchise was for the 2010 original Despicable Me movie, which, before factoring in inflation, earned $544.7 million. The franchise exploded in popularity from there, as 2013’s Despicable Me 2 earned $975.2 million worldwide, while 2015’s Minions made $1.157 billion and 2017’s Despicable Me 3 earned $1.032 billion globally.
Hampered by the havoc the COVID-19 pandemic caused with theaters worldwide, Minions: The Rise of Gru still made $937.7 million in 2022, while Despicable Me 4 earned $986.7 million in 2024.
While $461.9 million is more than a solid take for a summer movie release, the tally pales in comparison to all of the previous films released in the Despicable Me franchise. That’s not to say Minions & Monsters is a failure by any mean, especially considering that the film had an $85 million production budget before prints and advertising costs — a pittance compared to Toy Story 5’s production budget of $250 million before P&A.
As such, Minions & Monsters is in a healthy state, financially, as it heads into the home entertainment marketplace, where it is certain to build on its smaller-than-usual fortune.
‘Minions & Monsters’ Arrives On Streaming On Tuesday
Universal Studios Home Entertainment recently announced that Minions & Monsters will be released on digital streaming via premium video on demand on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
The film will be available for purchase for $29.99 on such digital platforms as Apple TV, Fandango at Home, Prime Video and YouTube Movies & TV. Since digital rental prices are typically $5 less than purchase prices, viewers can expect Minions & Monsters to be available to rent for a 48-hour period for $24.99.
Consumers who purchase a copy of Minions & Monsters on PVOD will have access to six bonus featurettes detailing a look at the film behind the scenes.
USHE also announced that Minions & Monsters will be released on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD on Tuesday, Sept. 8. Like purchased copies of the film on PVOD, the 4K and Blu-ray copies will include bonus features.