LA Times · Jul 11, 2015
Box office: 'Minions' off to a strong start; would a record be overkill?
The animated film "Minions" made an estimated $46 million in theaters Friday. (Illumination Entertainment / Associated Press)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."