Steve Carell Movie Nearly Reaches No. 1 on Netflix

The Netflix Top 10 Movies list is a real mixed bag at the time of this writing, with a 10-year-old children’s animated film ranking surprisingly high. Despicable Me 2 starring Steve Carrell ranks number 3 on the streamer’s list right now – a head of some Netflix original films that were released recently. This may be a sign of things to come as the Hollywood labor strikes move forward.

Despicable Me 2 is the number 3 movie on Netflix in the U.S. right now behind the new blockbuster Heart of Stone and the documentary Untold: Johnny Football. Both were released just this month while Despicable Me 2 was released over a decade ago. Still, its place on the list makes some sense – summer is a time when children have more free time and families have more gatherings, not to mention the recent opening of a Minions theme park in Orlando, Florida.

Despicable Me currently comes in at number 6 on Netflix’s Top 10 list, but its sequel is ahead. Despicable Me 2 brought back the ostensible villain Gru (Carrell) and his iconic Minions, as well as his girls Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier) and Agnes (Elsie Fisher). It also introduces Gru’s love interest Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig) and a host of other fan-favorite characters.

These two movies are the foundation for what has grown into a massive multi-media franchise. In addition to the sequel Despicable Me 3 in 2017, they spawned the spinoff movies Minions (2015) and Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022). They have also been adapted into video games, short films, TV specials and other media. Altogether this franchise is estimated to have grossed over $4.4. billion in the last 13 years.

The people behind it are hoping it won’t end there, either. The creation of Minion Park at Universal Studios Orlando is a sign of the staying power this franchise is expected to have, while another movie, Despicable Me 4 is currently in the works. It is slated for release in 2024, though like most American productions, that hinges on the outcome of the Hollywood labor strikes.

Those strikes are expected to start showing their effects soon on things like the Netflix Top 10 charts as new original content dries up – not to mention cable ratings and box office profits. So far the studios have not run out of finished material that was in post-production when the writers and actors went on strike, but as they do, throwback movies like Despicable Me 2 will take on more and more prominence like it has here.