Box office shocker, if there was one, could well be Minions: The Rise of Gru. Fans of the film’s adorable tiny yellow villains will soon be able to bring them home, as it has become an instantaneous worldwide phenomenon. The digital download of Minions: The Rise of Gru’s collector’s edition will begin on August 30, and the 4K ultra-HD, Blu-ray, and DVD releases will follow on September 2. The film was made available for digital download on August 2, but the impending collector’s edition will have more than 60 minutes of added content just for die-hard Minions fans. Included in this bonus material are outtakes, bloopers, an animation and sketching tutorial from the film’s co-director Brad Abelson, and two exclusive mini-movies set in the same era as the film.
The film’s actor, Steve Carell, will also make an appearance in this animated documentary, which traces the film’s development from its earliest stages in concept art and storyboards to its final form in theatres. The major characters of the film are introduced and their histories are explained in the extra materials. The film is a prequel to the Despicable Me series and tells the narrative of Gru’s (Carell) early aspirations to become a supervillain. The film follows him as he strives to become a villain, and it also reveals his humble beginnings with the Minions (all voiced by Pierre Coffin).
There are also cameos by Taraji P. Henson, Michelle Yeoh, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lucy Lawless, and RZA. The Minions/Despicable Me franchise has generally been a commercial success, and Minions: The Rise of Gru was no exception. Since its first release on July 1, the film’s earnings have consistently been above projections. Making nearly $202 million in its first weekend internationally, it far surpassed all expectations. Even though the U.S. box office took a hit due to the long Fourth of July weekend, the picture still managed to earn $93.8 million internationally. Though it’s been out for two months, Minions: The Rise of Gru has already made over $790 million at the worldwide box office and is still making a killing.
It looks like Universal Pictures has had a great year overall.
The company has had a string of hits since June when they published the highly anticipated Jurassic World: Dominion. Thanks to the success of these two movies, Universal became the first studio of the post-pandemic era to earn $3 billion in 2022.