'Minions' prove masters of the box office with $115.7 million opening weekend domestic take
Universal's "Minions" emerged from their supporting role to take command of theaters over the weekend with a $115.7 million box office haul.
The spinoff of the "Despicable Me" franchise focuses on the evolution of the subservient sidekicks from micro-organisms to henchmen to the world's most evil villains.
The animated movie easily beat out "Jurassic World," another Universal film, which is in its fifth weekend of release and ranked a distant second with $18.2 million.
This coming weekend, the "Minions" face a horde of insects in the Marvel superhero film, "Ant-Man."
The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Rentrak:
1. "Minions," Universal, $115,718,405, 4,301 locations, $26,905 average, $115,718,405, 1 week.
2. "Jurassic World," Universal, $18,151,275, 3,441 locations, $5,275 average, $590,689,595, 5 weeks.
3. "Inside Out," Disney, $17,665,796, 3,644 locations, $4,848 average, $284,196,100, 4 weeks.
4. "Terminator Genisys," Paramount, $13,830,369, 3,783 locations, $3,656 average, $68,848,110, 2 weeks.
5. "Gallows," Warner Bros., $9,808,463, 2,720 locations, $3,606 average, $9,808,463, 1 week.
6. "Magic Mike XXL," Warner Bros., $9,582,350, 3,376 locations, $2,838 average, $48,301,179, 2 weeks.
7. "Ted 2," Universal, $5,666,310, 2,171 locations, $2,610 average, $71,684,895, 3 weeks.
8. "Self/Less," Focus Features, $5,403,460, 2,353 locations, $2,296 average, $5,403,460, 1 week.
9. "Max," Warner Bros., $3,542,406, 2,088 locations, $1,697 average, $33,826,601, 3 weeks.
10. "Baahubali (Telugu)," BlueSky Cinemas, $3,068,964, 170 locations, $18,053 average, $4,433,887, 1 week.
11. "Spy," 20th Century Fox, $3,052,681, 1,457 locations, $2,095 average, $103,516,203, 6 weeks.
12. "Amy," A24 Films, $1,799,780, 341 locations, $5,278 average, $2,140,576, 2 weeks.
13. "San Andreas," Warner Bros., $1,231,228, 756 locations, $1,629 average, $150,022,103, 7 weeks.
14. "Me And Earl And The Dying Girl," Fox Searchlight, $661,177, 570 locations, $1,160 average, $5,541,967, 5 weeks.
15. "Dope," Open Road, $624,894, 380 locations, $1,644 average, $15,480,118, 4 weeks.
16. "Mad Max: Fury Road," Warner Bros., $617,148, 338 locations, $1,826 average, $150,253,195, 9 weeks.
17. "Avengers: Age Of Ultron," Disney, $455,764, 338 locations, $1,348 average, $455,238,846, 11 week.
18. "Love & Mercy," Roadside Attractions, $430,977, 294 locations, $1,466 average, $11,326,741, 6 weeks.
19. "I'll See You In My Dreams," Bleecker Street, $353,055, 212 locations, $1,665 average, $6,451,179, 9 weeks.
20. "Pitch Perfect 2," Universal, $274,060, 284 locations, $965 average, $183,058,230, 9 weeks.
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Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.