The past couple of weeks have seen the winner of the box office weekend change hands between various domestic blockbusters like "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales," "Wonder Woman," "Cars 3," and "Transformers: The Last Knight." Now, the latest summer blockbuster, "Despicable Me 3," has topped the weekend box office. However, its nearest competition in "Baby Driver" is the movie that critics are fawning over.
Gru and his minions once again win the box office
"Despicable Me 3," the fourth movie in Illumination Entertainment's biggest franchise if you count 2015's "Minions" spinoff, is still going strong as it easily won the box office weekend.
The movie opened on Friday, June 30th and proceeded to make $75.4 million from 4,529 theaters domestically. This was the widest domestic release ever for the franchise. In the overseas market, it took in about $116.9 million for a total haul of around $192 million worldwide. This is with the movie having yet to premiere in major markets like China, Germany, and France. It has also made more than double its estimated production budget of around $80 million after only three days.
The opening weekend of $72.4 million is worse than is predecessor, "Despicable Me 2" which took in $83.5 million, and the "Minions" spinoff which made $115.7 million. "Despicable Me 3," which stars Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Trey Parker and Miranda Cosgrove, has a respectable 63% rating from critics on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes and 67% from fans.
Critics are fawning over 'Baby Driver'
Coming in second at the box office was "Baby Driver" from Sony's TriStar Pictures, MRC, and Working Title. The movie made a total of $21 million over the weekend at 3,226 theaters. For its total five-day opening, including early previews on Tuesday, it made a total of about $30 million domestically.
Overseas the movie took in about $6.9 million, giving it a total worldwide haul of $36.9 million, more than its estimated budget of $34 million.
The R-rated action crime thriller starring Ansel Elgort, Jon Bernthal, John Hamm, Eiza Gonzalez, Lily James, and Kevin Spacey has critics fawning over it. The movie, written and directed by Edgar Wright ("Shaun of the Dead," "Hot Fuzz," "The World's End"), is already getting Oscar buzz. It has an impressive 97% rating from the critics on Rotten Tomatoes, while the fans have given it a score of 91%.
