Box Office: ‘Minions & Monsters’ Nears $100 Million Overseas, ‘Toy Story 5’ Climbs to $764 Million Globally

Minions fatigue? Not at the international box office, where “Minions & Monsters” earned $85 million from 71 markets over the weekend and $98 million to date. That’s in stark contrast to the domestic turnout, where the “Despicable Me” spinoff notched a franchise-low $61 million debut over five days, including $39 million over the traditional weekend.

So far, “Minions & Monsters” has generated $159 million globally. Top territories are China ($16.3 million), Germany ($6.4 million) and the United Kingdom and Ireland ($5.8 million). Although the disappointing domestic turnout is cause for concern, overseas appeal has always been key to the commercial success of the “Despicable Me” franchise. International ticket sales accounted for 71% of overall returns for the first “Minions” spinoff in 2015 and 60% for the sequel, “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” in 2022. Those films were juggernauts with $1.1 billion and $940 million globally, respectively.

Universal and Illumination produced “Minions & Monsters” for $85 million, making it slightly less expensive than prior entries, which cost around $100 million each. The film was well received by critics and audiences, which could help in terms of staying power. Series co-creator Pierre Coffin directed “Minions & Monsters,” which takes place in 1920 as the babbling yellow creatures become the toast of Hollywood. But when sound comes along, the Minions are unable to sustain careers in showbiz because of the sad fact that the rest of the world can’t understand their native tongue, Minionese.

Box office watchers point to oversaturation for “Despicable Me,” which has produced seven films across 16 years, averaging a new adventure about every two years. Compare that to “Toy Story,” with just five movies in three decades. Scarcity seems to help in terms of “Toy Story 5,” which added $69.3 million from 50 international markets in its third weekend of release. The film opened over the weekend in Japan, which accounted for $14.6 million to stand as the highest opening in the country for a Hollywood release. Other major markets are Mexico with $59.3 million, the U.K. with $50 million and China with $37 million. So far, the latest installment in Disney and Pixar’s beloved animated franchise has generated $398 million overseas and $764 million globally. It should eventually overtake “Toy Story 4” ($1.07 billion) as the highest-grossing chapter in the long-running series.

Meanwhile, “Supergirl” cratered with $9.4 million from 80 territories in its second weekend in theaters. The Warner Bros. and DC adventure is shaping up as a major money-loser with $42 million overseas and $100 million worldwide to date. “Supergirl” cost $170 million to produce and will lose at least $100 million to $120 million in its theatrical run.