Despicable Me 3 Crosses the $1 Billion Mark at the Worldwide Box Office

With yesterday’s grosses, Illumination’s Despicable Me 3 crossed $1 billion at the worldwide box office, earning $741.4 million internationally and $259.05 million in North America. Its results have propelled the Despicable Me franchise past the Shrek series to become the highest-grossing animated film franchise of all time globally, and past the Ice Age series to become the highest-grossing animated franchise internationally. Despicable Me 3 joins The Fate of the Furious ($1.238 billion) as the second Universal film to cross $1 billion this year.

Illumination’s eight releases—which include Despicable Me, Hop, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, Despicable Me 2, Minions, The Secret Life of Pets, Sing and Despicable Me 3—have grossed more than $5.7 billion worldwide. Despicable Me 3 is Illumination’s second film to gross more than $1 billion, as well as the first time an animated franchise has had two movies both cross $1 billion. It is also the company’s third title to gross more than $900 million, another feat that no other animation studio has ever accomplished.

Despicable Me 3 is now the sixth-highest-grossing animated film of all time worldwide, and the third-highest-grossing animated film of all time internationally, behind only Frozen and Minions. At the global box office, Despicable Me 3 has become the biggest animated film of 2017, as well as the third-highest-grossing film of any genre this year.

“The enduring success of Despicable Me and Minions is a testament to the extraordinary talent of the team at Illumination and Illumination Mac Guff combined with the world’s greatest studio, Universal,” said Illumination Founder and CEO Chris Meledandri. “Our passion for creating memorable experiences is on display in Despicable Me 3, and we thank fans for taking this chapter to a billion-dollar milestone.”

“What Chris and his team at Illumination have been able to do with this franchise has been nothing short of amazing,” said Duncan Clark, President, Distribution, Universal Pictures International. “Despicable Me has permeated deep into all cultures internationally, and these movies have become a destination for family audiences of all ages everywhere. That is a remarkable achievement by any standard.”

“This record-breaking franchise continues to appeal to a wide range of audiences with compelling stories and distinctive characters that are both sweet and subversive,” added Nick Carpou, President, Domestic Distribution, Universal Pictures. “When audiences see an Illumination title on the release schedule, they know they’re in for a good time.”

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