Weekend Box Office: 'Minions' Opens Big With Record Debut ~ amazing movies

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Universal's "Minions" overran the box office on the weekend as audiences in the U.S. and Canada shelled out an estimated $115.2 million to see the evil-master-serving horde frolic on the big screen.

That's the second-highest opening weekend for an animated film ever, beating out "Toy Story 3" ($110.3 million), and coming in behind the all-time, three-day debut champ, "Shrek the Third" ($122.5 million).

"Minions" also boasts another record: Best domestic opening day in history for an animated film, with its $46.2 million take on Friday.

It was an easy win for the sidekicks who took the spotlight after playing supporting roles in two previous "Despicable Me" movies. The bright, babbling baldies have become key characters in the franchise from Universal's Illumination Entertainment.

Directed by Peter Coffin, who co-directed the "Despicable Me" 1 and 2 and voices the Minions, the movie easily beat "Jurassic World," another Universal picture that grossed $18.1 million in its fifth weekend after release, according to box office tracker Rentrak.

Disney's "Inside Out" came in third with $17.1 million in its fourth weekend.

This weekend saw two other new releases hit theaters with less-than-amazing results.

Blumhouse's micro-budgeted horror flick, "The Gallows," opened in fifth place with an estimated $10 million. Budgeted at less than $1 million, the film has -- despite tepid reviews -- already turned a small profit for distributors New Line Cinema and Warner Bros.

And Ryan Reynolds' latest, the body swap thriller "Self/Less," was dead on arrival. The film, budgeted at $26 million, opened in eighth-place with a disappointing $5.4 million.

Thank you for reading the article about Weekend Box Office: 'Minions' Opens Big With Record Debut in blog amazing movies If this article was helpful please bookmark this page in your web browser by pressing Ctrl + D on your keyboard keys.