We’re not sure if the entire universe knows the words to Let it Go yet, but it’s safe to say that the entire planet Earth does. That movie was kind of a big deal. However, another animated film is on the verge of taking down Elsa and Anna. It turns out that Minions has made nearly enough money to take over as the biggest animated feature of all time.
The Despicable Me spinoff that focuses on the little yellow gibberish-speaking sidekicks pened in China recently, and, as per usual these days, the box office take has been ridiculous. According to Entertainment Weekly, the film’s opening weekend added another $20.1 million to the film's box office totals. This puts it its global haul at an impressive $1.08 billion. That’s good enough to bypass Toy Story 3 and become the second biggest animated movie ever. Only the Disney ice princesses stand in their way now. There's still some work for the Minions to do though, as Frozen’s global box office stands at $1.27 billion.
The just under $200 million separating the two films seems insurmountable, but that may not be the case. It will take some pretty consistent box office numbers to get there, but animated films tend to take the "slow and steady" approach a lot of the time. According to BoxOfficeMojo, the movie is still in 1500 theater in the US and took in an additional $1.5 million last weekend. It was released here over three months ago. The movie is still making money all over the world and with the largest movie audience on the planet leading the charge it’s still very possible that Frozen may end up in second place.
What’s interesting is that regardless of whether or not Minions takes the crown, it’s made it to number two with a minimum of fanfare. On Frozen’s way to the top the movie pretty much took over the entirety of pop culture. Let it Go was everywhere, driving many people absolutely crazy. While the Minions are certainly popular characters - popular enough to get their own film after all - it’s difficult to argue they have become as inescapable as Frozen did.
Minions’ $20.1 million outdoes the $18.5 million that Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation just put up in China last week, though that film still holds the 2D record for the country. While Minions may not seem a likely contender to dethrone Frozen, it’s just another example of the obscene year that Universal is having. They already have two movies this year that have entered the all-time top ten and have already had the biggest year of any movie studio ever.
