'Despicable Me' Becomes First Animated Franchise To Cross $5 Billion USD Mark

Despicable Me is becoming one of the most popular animations to date. Following the release of Despicable Me 4 arriving in theaters and gaining great traction at the international box office, the films have now become the first animated franchise in history to cross the $5 billion USD mark.

The beloved fourth sequel brought back Steve Carell as the reformed supervillain Gru and Will Ferrell as Maxime Le Mal, his former schoolmate turned evil rival. Currently playing in almost 80 foreign markets, the Universal and Illumination film earned $11.8 million USD in China alone, where it debuted 35,000 screens and 11,000 locations in the country.

Despicable Me 4 goes up agains Disney and Pixar’s smash hit sequel Inside Out 2 earning $777.5 million USD globally to make it the fifth highest-grossing animated film of all time. Inside Out 2 surpasses Despicable Me 3 and is slated to be the only 2024 release to join the $1 billion USD club. Around the world, the film has earned $1.36 billion USD so far.

Despicable Me 4 is now in theaters worldwide.