With one large eye on weekend domination, "Minions" easily topped the competition for a No. 1 debut Friday at the box office.
The animated film, an offshoot of the successful "Despicable Me" franchise, earned an estimated $46.2 million to start the weekend, according to Box Office Mojo. That puts the movie on course to make approximately $120 million by Sunday, which the tracking site said would be the biggest animated opening — ahead of recent blockbusters such as "Shrek 2," "Toy Story 2" and "Shrek the Third."
Before Friday's debut, Universal Pictures estimated "Minions" would perform in line with the $83.