Illumination and Universal's "Minions & Monsters" opened to $61.4 million over the five-day Thanksgiving corridor in North America, marking the franchise's lowest debut ever. The three-day weekend haul landed at $36.4 million, a sharp drop that arrives just weeks after DC Studios' "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow" cratered at the box office.
The result stings for a property that built its reputation on reliable family appeal. The "Minions" spin-off franchise, which launched in 2015, previously delivered $115 million domestic on "Minions" and $108 million on "Minions: The Rise of Gru." Both films dominated their opening weekends with massive youth demographics and repeat viewing power. "Minions & Monsters" failed to replicate that magic, signaling audience fatigue or miscalculation in positioning.
James Gunn and Peter Safran, who oversee both this Illumination tentpole and the struggling DC Studios slate, now face questions about their creative leadership across two studios simultaneously. Their DC experiment has stumbled with "Supergirl," while their Illumination project underperformed on a weekend historically dominated by family fare.
The Thanksgiving corridor traditionally favors animated films and multi-generational entertainment. Yet "Minions & Monsters" couldn't capitalize on the holiday window. The film's premise, whatever freshness it attempted, didn't resonate with audiences who had grown accustomed to these yellow characters' antics over nearly a decade.
This opens real conversation about whether the "Minions" brand, once seemingly unstoppable, has hit saturation. The character's omnipresence in marketing, merchandise, and spin-offs may have eroded their novelty. Illumination built an empire on these creatures, but franchise overs