Things are looking very bright at Universal PIctures this 4th of July as the animated family sequel Despicable Me 2 has far exceeded expectations by grossing an estimated $34.3 million its opening day.
Once again starring Steve Carell as the voice of the supervillain named simply Gru, Despicable Me 2 opened on Tuesday night and it’s already Universal Pictures’ biggest Wednesday opening as well as the eighth-highest Wednesday opening and third-highest opening day gross for an animated feature ever. Internationally, the movie has grossed $65.9 million through yesterday bringing its worldwide total over the $100 million after opening in a few select territories this past weekend and the weekend prior. It opens in 38 more territories this weekend and we’ll have the full worldwide box office total for the movie in our Sunday box office report.
Meanwhile, Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Productions’ take on The Lone Ranger, reuniting actor Johnny Depp and director Gore Verbinski from the first three “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies, opened with less than $10 million its opening day, and the comedy concert film Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain brought in an estimated $4.5 million in just 876 theaters.
