The battle of the Summer 2022 animated films has been won.
Universal’s “Minions: The Rise of Gru” has stampeded Pixar’s “Lightyear.” We will never be the same!
In its opening weekend, “Minions” has made $108 million. In three days, it just “gru” and “gru” and “gru.”
That’s four million dollars more than “Lightyear” earned in three weeks.
Ouch!
“Minions” is eyeing a July 4th record opening for four days: $128 million. Who’d a thunk it?
“Lightyear” is a rare failure for Pixar, which made the mistake of creating a prequel with no attachment to the movies — the “Toy Story” series — it was prequelling.
Also, “Lightyear” is said to have cost $200 million to make. So unless it catches on with streaming or DVDs or the merchandise suddenly becomes collectible, the money is lost to the winds of time. Maybe Pixar can re-voice the whole thing with Tim Allen as a stunt. That’s the only way out.