Despicable Me 3 Falls Short Of Projections, Wins Weekend Box Office

Despite a box office total that will fall shy of what was expected, Despicable Me 3 will top this weekend’s box office.

Despicable Me 3 opened to $29 million on Friday from 4,529 locations, including $4.1 million in Thursday night previews. Based on those numbers, the animated feature was was projected for the sixth-biggest opening of 2017 with $83.5 million (landing behind Beauty and the Beast, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Wonder Woman, Fate of the Furious, and Logan). Instead, Dsepicable Me 3 will bring in about $75.4 million, which is still enough to win the weekend box office handily.

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Despicable Me 3 brings back the voices of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, and Miranda Cosgrove and adds South Park creator Trey Parker to the mix.

Despicable Me 3 is the worst-reviewed film in the series. It’s opening weekend total will best that of the original Despicable Me ($56.4 million), but fall shy of the opening total for Despicable Me 2 ($83.5 million).

Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver outperformed expectations by earning just shy of $6 million on Friday from 3,226 locations and then did it again by getting on track to earn $30 million by the end of Sunday. The critically-acclaimed film stars Ansel Elgort and is on track to become a career box office best for Wright.

Fellow opener The House, starring Will Farrell and Amy Poehler, didn’t fair as well. The film grossed only $3.3 million on Friday and will find itself in sixth place on its opening weekend.

Filling in the remaining three spots in the top five are last week’s winner Transformers: The Last Knight at number three with $16.2 million, Wonder Woman at number four with $15.4 million, and Cars 3 at number five with $10 million.

The remaining top ten includes horror-thriller 47 Meters Down at number seven, The Beguiled at number eight, The Mummy at number nine, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales at number ten.

With the Fourth of July holiday this weekend, there’s plenty of time for moviegoers to see whatever has them most excited at the box office. Keep reading to see how the top five stack up against each other.

1. Despicable Me 3

Opening Weekend
Friday: $29.1 million
Weekend: $75.4 million

The mischievous Minions hope that Gru will return to a life of crime after the new boss of the Anti-Villain League fires him. Instead, Gru decides to remain retired and travel to Freedonia to meet his long-lost twin brother for the first time. The reunited siblings soon find themselves in an uneasy alliance to take down the elusive Balthazar Bratt, a former 1980s child star who seeks revenge against the world.

Despicable Me 3 is directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, co-directed by Eric Guillon, and written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. The film stars the voices of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig and Trey Parker.

2. Baby Driver

Opening Weekend
Friday: $5.7 million
Weekend: $18.4 million
Total: $30 million

Talented getaway driver Baby (Ansel Elgort) relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. After meeting the woman (Lily James) of his dreams, he sees a chance to ditch his shady lifestyle and make a clean break. Coerced into working for a crime boss (Kevin Spacey), Baby must face the music as a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom.

Baby Driver is written and directed by Edgar Wright, and stars Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Lily James, Jon Bernthal, Eiza González, Jon Hamm and Jamie Foxx.

3. Transformers: The Last Knight

Week Two
Last Week: No. 1Friday: $4.9 MillionWeekend: $16.2 Million
Total:$101.3 million

Transformers: The Last Knight shatters the core myths of the Transformers franchise, and redefines what it means to be a hero. Humans and Transformers are at war, Optimus Prime is gone. The key to saving our future lies buried in the secrets of the past, in the hidden history of Transformers on Earth. Saving our world falls upon the shoulders of an unlikely alliance: Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg); Bumblebee; an English Lord (Sir Anthony Hopkins); and an Oxford Professor (Laura Haddock).

There comes a moment in everyone’s life when we are called upon to make a difference. In Transformers: The Last Knight, the hunted will become heroes. Heroes will become villains. Only one world will survive: theirs, or ours.

Mark Wahlberg and Stanley Tucci will reprise their roles from Transformers: Age of Extinction. Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, and John Turturro reprise their roles for the first three Transformers movies. The film also stars Isabela Moner, Laura Haddock, Anthony Hopkins, Santiago Cabrera, Liam Garrigan, Jerrod Carmichael, and Mitch Pileggi.

Transformers: The Last Knight’s voice cast includes Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime, John Goodman as Hound, and John DiMaggio as Crosshairs. Other transformers appearing the film include Bumblebee, Drift, Hot Rod, Cogman, Canopy, Sqweeks, Grimlock, Megatron, Barricade, Onslaught, Hooligan, and Mohawk.

4. Wonder Woman

Week Five
Last Week: No. 2Friday: $4.3 million
Weekend: $15.4 million
Total: $345.9 million

Gal Gadot returns as the title character in the epic action-adventure from director Patty Jenkins. Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, when an American pilot crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world, Diana leaves her home, convinced she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers…and her true destiny.

Wonder Woman is directed by Patty Jenkins and is written by Allan Heinberg, Geoff Johns, and Zack Snyder. The film stars Gal Gadot (Diana Prince/Wonder Woman), Chris Pine (Steve Trevor), Robin Wright (General Antiope), Connie Nielsen (Queen Hippolyta), David Thewlis, Elena Anaya, Lucy Davis (Etta Candy), Danny Huston, Ewen Bremmer, Doutzen Kroes, Samantha Jo (Euboea), Florence Kasumba (Senator Acantha), Said Taghmaoui, Eleanor Matsuura (Epione), Emily Carey (Young Diana), and Lisa Loven Kongsli (Menalippe).

5. Cars 3

Week Three
Last Week: No. 3Friday: $3 million
Weekend: $10 million
Total: $121.1 million

Blindsided by a new generation of blazing-fast cars, the legendary Lighting McQueen finds himself pushed out of the sport that he loves. Hoping to get back in the game, he turns to Cruz Ramirez, an eager young technician who has her own plans for winning. With inspiration from the Fabulous Hudson Hornet and a few unexpected turns, No. 95 prepares to compete on Piston Cup Racing’s biggest stage.