"Minions" crosses $1 billion mark worldwide

PanARMENIAN.Net - Universal Pictures shows yet another domination this year with "Minions". The animated picture has passed the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office with $321.9 million of it coming from North America, AceShowbiz reports.

"Minions" accumulated $990.2 million in global revenue last weekend and predictably reached the milestone this week. It consequently achieves the title of third highest-grossing animated film of all time, surpassing Disney's "The Lion King" and catching up on Disney's "Frozen (2013)" and Pixar's "Toy Story 3".

For Universal, it is the first time the studio has had three films crossing the $1 billion mark worldwide in a single year. In fact, this is the first time for any studio. "Furious 7" and "Jurassic World" are still raking in money in theaters worldwide.

For Illumination Entertainment, "Minions" is their highest-grossing film ever and the biggest animated film of 2015 at the global box office. Counting in the company's four other releases, "Despicable Me", "Hop", "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" and "Despicable Me 2", Illumination has accumulated $3 billion worldwide.

It is quite possible that "Minions" will continue to rake in numbers as it is yet to open in China, Italy, Turkey and Greece.