Despicable Me 2 minions top Sandler’s Grown Ups 2 at box office

The animated film featuring the lovable minions collected $44.8 million from Friday through Sunday.

NEW YORK: The mighty minions of Despicable Me 2 beat human comedy star Adam Sandler’s new film Grown Ups 2 at the US and Canadian box office this weekend.

The animated film featuring the crowd-pleasing yellow minions collected $44.8 million from Friday through Sunday, edging out Sandler’s comedy sequel, which racked up $42.5 million in ticket sales — in line with industry projections.

Big-budget thriller Pacific Rim, an apocalyptic battle that pits towering monsters against giant, human-piloted robots, settled for a third-place with $38.3 million, at the low end of industry projections for the film.

Sandler’s Grown Ups sequel reunites the comedian with pals Kevin James, Chris Rock and David Spade in a follow-up to the 2010 original, and adds a younger generation of characters including Twilight actor Taylor Lautner. This time, Sandler’s character, Lenny, moves back to his hometown.

“This is a great start,” said Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Sony Pictures Entertainment, adding that “for us to succeed at this level, bodes well for the future of the film,” which he noted, out-grossed the first film’s opening.

Despicable Me 2, featuring the voice of Steve Carell, made another powerhouse showing in its second weekend in North American (US and Canadian) theatres. The film, produced by Illumination Entertainment, brought its worldwide total to $472 million through Sunday.

Rounding out the chart’s top five, the Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy comedy The Heat, rung up sales of $14 million in domestic theatres and took the fourth spot. Walt Disney Co’s The Lone Ranger starring Johnny Depp earned $11.1 million and came in fifth.

Monsters University came in sixth while World War Z came in seventh followed by White House Down and Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain in eighth and ninth place. The much-hyped superhero flick Man of Steel came in last.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 16^th, 2013.

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