Despicable Me 2 beats Johnny Depp's The Lone Ranger to top US Box office
The animated film took more than $50m more than The Lone Ranger in its opening weekend
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Animated sequel Despicable Me 2 has topped the US box office chart, beating Johnny Depp’s The Lone Ranger to the number one spot.
The Universal Pictures animation made $82.5m (£55.4m) over the weekend, according to early estimates.
Disney’s The Lone Ranger, starring Depp as Tonto in a reboot of the radio and TV series, took just $29.5 million (£19.8m) after receiving a number of negative reviews.
Despicable Me 2 also topped the UK box office in its debut week, beating the opening of the rebooted Superman film Man of Steel.
The film, a follow-up to 2010’s Despicable Me, took £14.8 million at British cinemas in its opening weekend, in comparison to Man of Steel’s £3.6 million.
Despicable Me 2 stars Steve Carrell, who provides the voice for a dysfunctional father named Gru, alongside Kirsten Wiig (Bridesmaids) as his sidekick, Lucy Wilde.
It also features favourites from the first film, The Minions, small yellow henchman who have existed since the beginning of time, who are set to get their own spin-off film.
The reviews have been largely favourable although some have bemoaned the lack of adult humour.
The Independent’s Anthony Quinn wrote: “Kids will love the Minions, one-eyed, egg-shaped creatures that speak a weird nonsense lingo, though there’s not much to tickle adults.”
Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal Pictures, said a third Despicable Me film was in the pipeline.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
“The Minions steal everybody’s hearts. It’s a great time of year to release a family film with broad appeal,” she told the BBC.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments