The movie Rise of Gru Takes Record Setting $129M July 4th Box Office Debut

The movie's performance is significant in that it confirms that parents and younger kids are ready to return to the multiplex in droves. Throughout the pandemic, animated films have been considered a challenged genre. It didn't help when Pixar and 's Toy Story spinoff Lightyear opened to a tepid $51 million last month before falling off steeply in its sophomore outing (still, Lightyear achieved a milestone on Friday when jumping the $100 million domestically on Friday).