”Minions and Monsters’ hit cinemas on Wednesday, 1 July 2026, and the animated prequel has already made history, landing as the best-reviewed film in the entire ‘Despicable Me’ franchise.
The film opened to $13.75 million on its first day and is tracking a softer start than earlier entries, though it is still eyeing around $80 million over the July 4th holiday weekend in the United States, as reported by Variety.
Why Minions and Monsters is breaking records
With 51 reviews counted, Minions and Monsters holds a 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes, making it not only the highest-rated film in the Despicable Me line but also Illumination’s best-reviewed project across the studio’s 16-year history.
For a franchise built on chaos, that is a serious critical leap.
Critics have singled out a refreshing story, plenty of action and a stream of sharp industry in-jokes.
The reception marks a shift for a series often dismissed as pure kids’ fare, suggesting the Minions still have room to surprise audiences seven films into their run.
Illumination has spent 16 years turning the Minions into a merchandising juggernaut, yet critical respect has often lagged behind box-office muscle.
A 92% score shifts that conversation, giving the studio a rare case where the reviews match the commercial reach these little yellow characters command worldwide.
What ‘Minions and Monsters’ is about
‘This one is a proper prequel. Set in 1927, roughly 41 years before the events of Minions in 2015, the story follows the little yellow troublemakers as they try to make a monster movie of their own in the glamour and grime of Old Hollywood.
It is the third film in the Minions prequel strand and the seventh in the wider Despicable Me franchise, directed by Pierre Coffin and written by Coffin alongside Brian Lynch.
The 1927 setting means this is a Minions story that predates Gru entirely, a first for the series.
Fans will recognise the formula, wordless slapstick, gibberish banter and elaborate set pieces, now transplanted into the silent-era film world.
Dropping the Minions onto a 1920s studio backlot gives the animators a rich, retro playground and a fresh excuse for the mayhem the characters are loved for.
When ‘Minions and Monsters’ reaches South Africa
The film has already opened across several international markets, pulling in more than $10 million from ten offshore territories including France and Belgium ahead of its wider rollout.
A confirmed South African cinema date could not be verified at the time of publishing.
What happens next
All eyes now turn to the July 4th weekend numbers in the United States, where the franchise has traditionally thrived.
With reviews this strong and overseas takings already building, Minions and Monsters looks set to hold on well beyond opening weekend, whatever the softer first-day figure suggested.
