Minions (film)
Minions (film)
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"The Minions" redirects here. For other uses, see Minion (disambiguation).
| Minions | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | Brian Lynch |
| Starring | |
| Narrated by | Geoffrey Rush |
| Music by | Heitor Pereira[1] |
| Edited by | Claire Dodgson |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
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Release dates
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Running time
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91 minutes[4] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $74 million[5][6] |
| Box office | $761,847,077 [7] |
Minions premiered on June 11, 2015, in London, United Kingdom, and went into general release in the United States on July 10, 2015. Critical response to the film was mixed: some critics praised the comedic aspects of the film, others felt that the titular characters weren't able to carry the film on their own. Much of the criticism was focused on the flat characterizations of the film's villains. The film has grossed over $760 million worldwide.
Contents
Plot
Minions are small, yellow, pill-shaped creatures who have existed since the beginning of time, evolving from single-celled organisms into beings who exist only to serve history's most villainous masters.[11] They find great masters—including a T. Rex, a caveman, an Egyptian pharaoh, Dracula,[12] and Napoleon,[3]—but after accidentally killing nearly all of them with their incompetence, they decide to isolate themselves from the world and start a new life in Antarctica.[12] By 1968, the lack of a master drives them into depression, so one minion—Kevin—plans to find a new master.[3][12][13] Stuart—a bored, teenaged minion who is obsessed with guitars—joins him reluctantly, as does Bob, who volunteers when Kevin begs.After a long journey, the Minions arrive in New York where they learn about Villain-Con, a convention to be held in Orlando, Florida where supervillains gather from around the world. They hitchhike to Orlando, where they become the henchmen for Scarlet Overkill, the world's first female supervillain. Back in Antarctica, the other Minions begin working for a Yeti leader, but once again accidentally kill their leader. They travel around the world to find Kevin and a new master to serve.
Scarlet takes the Minions home to London and orders them to steal St. Edward's Crown from Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, threatening to execute them if they fail. With weapons from Herb, Scarlet's husband, the Minions successfully break into the Tower of London. The crown is being delivered to the Queen, so they steal the it from the Queen's carriage with the police in pursuit. Bob crashes onto the mythical Sword in the Stone and pulls the sword, Excalibur, out easily to defend himself. Elizabeth is removed from the throne and Bob is crowned as the new Monarch of the United Kingdom.
Convinced they are traitors, Scarlet threatens to execute the Minions. King Bob abdicates in Scarlet's favor, but she betrays the Minions, locking them in the palace dungeon to be tortured by Herb. The Minions' unusual abilities save them from getting hurt and when Herb goes to attend his wife's coronation, the Minions escape the dungeon through a sewer, intending to apologize to Scarlet.
At Westminster Abbey, the Minions accidentally interrupt Scarlet's coronation by unscrewing a chandelier, which falls and crushes Scarlet before she can be crowned. Scarlet survives and orders those attending the coronation—including some super-villains—to execute the Minions. Stuart and Bob are captured while Kevin hides in a bar where he finds Elizabeth. Kevin learns that Stuart and Bob are to be executed and breaks into Herb's laboratory, with villains chasing him. He accidentally triggers a machine that makes him a giant, destroying the Overkill residence in the process, which scares the villains away.
Kevin rescues his companions just as the other Minions arrive in London. Scarlet is distracted by the army of Minions and Kevin knocks her through numerous buildings. She sends a rocket towards Kevin, which he swallows, sacrificing himself to save Stuart, Bob and the other Minions. Scarlet and Herb attempt to escape using her dress rocket but Kevin holds onto it as the missile inside him explodes, killing Scarlet and Herb and shrinking Kevin back to his original size.
Elizabeth is once again crowned Queen of the United Kingdom. She publicly presents Bob with a tiny crown, Stuart with an electric guitar and Kevin with a knighthood. Scarlet—suddenly revealed to be alive—steals the Queen's crown with Herb, but they are frozen by a young Gru, who takes the crown from them. Scarlet is disappointed until Bob gives her his tiny crown. The Minions see Gru as their new potential boss and chase after him to his home.
Cast
- Pierre Coffin as Kevin, Stuart, Bob and the Minions[14]
- Sandra Bullock as Scarlet Overkill, an ambitious supervillain[15]
- Jon Hamm as Herb Overkill, an inventor and Scarlet's husband[16]
- Michael Keaton as Walter Nelson[17][18]
- Allison Janney as Madge Nelson[19]
- Steve Coogan as Professor Flux and a tower guard[17][20]
- Geoffrey Rush as the Narrator[21]
- Jennifer Saunders as Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom[22][23]
- Hiroyuki Sanada as Dumo the Sumo, a sumo wrestler[23]
- Steve Carell as young Gru,[24] a future supervillain and the Minions' master in the Despicable Me films
- Katy Mixon as Tina Nelson[25]
Production
In July 2012, Universal Studios and Illumination Entertainment announced that the Minions from Despicable Me would get their own spin-off film, and was planned for a 2014 release.[26] Brian Lynch, previously known for co-writing the films Hop (2011) and Puss in Boots (2011), was asked to write the film's screenplay, due to his prior work of writing the theme park ride Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem.[27] On August 21, 2012, it was announced that the film would be released on December 19, 2014.[28] In February 2013, Sandra Bullock joined the cast to voice Scarlet Overkill,[15] with Jon Hamm joining two months later as her husband Herb Overkill.[16] On September 20, 2013, the film's release date was pushed back from December 19, 2014 to July 10, 2015,[29] due to Universal's satisfaction with the July release of Despicable Me 2[30] and desire to exploit fully the merchandising potential of a summer film.[29]Release
The film had its world premiere on June 11, 2015 at Odeon Leicester Square in London, United Kingdom.[2] On June 17, 2015, it was released theatrically in Indonesia and Australia.[31] The next day, on June 18, they were followed by releases in Malaysia and Singapore,[31] and by a screening at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, in France.[32] In the United States, the film premiered on June 27, 2015, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles,[33] and was released in the United States on July 10, 2015.[3] It is scheduled to be released in China in mid-September with the exact date yet to be announced.[34]Marketing
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This section requires expansion. (July 2015) |
Reception
Box office
As of July 26, 2015, Minions has grossed $262.5 million in the United States and $497.8 million in other territories for a worldwide total of over $759.3 million, against a budget of $74 million.[7] It topped the worldwide box office for three consecutive weekends.[40]North America
In the United States and Canada, Minions received the widest release for Universal Pictures, the widest of 2015 and the second widest for an animated film behind Shrek Forever After (4,386 theaters).[41] It opened simultaneously with the horror film The Gallows and the sci-fi drama Self/less across 4,301 theaters with box office pundits noting that the film did not face serious competition with them. Initial projections had the film open around $100–$121 million. However, Universal Pictures decided not to report box office figures for the movie.[5][6][42][43] It made $6.2 million from its Thursday night showings from 2,985 theaters which began at 6 p.m, a record for an animated film,[44][45][46] and $46.2 in its opening day (including Thursday previews), marking the biggest opening day for an animated film and the second biggest single-day (behind the $47.1 million Saturday gross of Shrek the Third).[47] Through its opening weekend, it earned a total of $115.7 million, which fell in line with the projections and marked the second-highest animated movie opening of all time only behind Shrek the Third ($121.6 million). Albeit in terms of 3D, it is the highest. It also became the fourth film of 2015 to open more than $100 million (the third by Universal) and only one of four animated films ever to achieve this milestone, the other two being Toy Story 3 ($110.3 million) and Shrek 2 ($108 million).[48][49] In its second weekend, the film fell to No. 2 earning $49.3 million (down 57%) behind newcomer superhero film Ant-Man.[50]Other territories
Minions went into general release in 44 countries in the month of June and July ahead and along with its North American release,[51] and will be released in a total of 66 countries.[52] It earned an estimated $12.5 million in its opening weekend from four countries on 621 screens.[53] It added $37.6 million in its second weekend from 10 countries.[54] In its third weekend, it grossed $56.2 million from 26 countries, coming in second place at the international box office behind Terminator Genisys.[55] It finally topped the international box office earning $130.7 million from 56 countries in its fourth weekend.[56] As of July 26, 2015, it is playing across 60 countries landing in first place in 55 countries. In Australia and India it landed at No. 2 where Jurassic World and Baahubali: The Beginning both took the top spot respectively the weekend it was released in.[56][57] It topped the box office for just one weekend, before Chinese film Monster Hunt surpassed it in its fifth weekend.[58] It passed the $500 million mark internationally in five weeks and six days, faster than Despicable Me 2 which took fourteen weeks and three days to reach that milestone.[57]It had the biggest opening day of all time for an animated film in Belgium, France, Hungary, Romania, Russia and the CIS, South Africa, French-speaking Switzerland, Ukraine, Chile, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela, Hong Kong, the Philippines,[59] Taiwan, and Thailand,[52][60][61] Universal’s biggest opening day of all time in France, French-speaking Switzerland, Hungary, Russia and Ukraine,[52] Universal's second-biggest opening day in Indonesia (behind Furious 7),[51] the second biggest opening day of all time in Russia and the CIS ($3.8 million,[61] and the biggest opening day of all time for all films in Venezuela.[52] Also, it set the record for the biggest opening weekend of all-time in Venezuela ($5.6 million),[56] the biggest for an animated film in 29 countries including Brazil ($7 million), Argentina ($5.4 million), Portugal ($1.2 million), Indonesia and Malaysia,[53][54][56][57] the second biggest for an animated film in Peru with $1.9 million (behind Ice Age: Continental Drift), the biggest for Universal in France ($12.1 million) and 6 other countries, the second biggest opening of all time in Mexico ($19.7 million) and the third biggest in Russia and the CIS ($14.3 million). Albeit it is the biggest of all time in terms of admissions ahead of Furious 7.[40][56][57] In the UK, Ireland and Malta, the film received the widest release ever for an animated film — across 573 screens — and grossed $18.1 million (£11.6 million), thus achieving the biggest ever three-day opening for an animation in the UK.[54] It topped the box office there for three weekends.[62] Elsewhere, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and New Zealand all opened No. 1.[54] Other notable openings were witnessed in Germany ($9.8 million), Spain ($6 million), Australia ($4.4 million) and Colombia ($3.3 million).[53][55] In Brazil, it also became the biggest box office for an animated film of all-time.[63] As of July 26, it has become the most watched film 2015 in Germany with 4.42 million admissions (surpassing even the 3.7 million admissions of Despicable Me 2).[64] In total earning, its largest markets outside of the U.S. are the U.K. ($57.6 million) and Germany ($42 million).[65] It has seven more countries to go including Korea (July 29), Japan (July 31), Slovenia (August 13), Italy (August 27), China (Septermber 13), Turkey (September 14) and Greece (September 24).[40][57]
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gives Minions a rating of 54%, based on 165 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Minions' brightly colored brand of gibberish-fueled insanity stretches to feature length in their self-titled Despicable Me spinoff, with uneven but often hilarious results."[66] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 56 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[67] In CinemaScore polls, cinema audiences gave Minions an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[48]Jesse Hassenger of The A.V. Club gave the film a C, saying "Minions has idiosyncratic roots, but it's a franchise play all the way. Finally, even 5-year-olds have their own movie that mechanically cashes in on something they loved when they were younger."[68] Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying "I, too, once enjoyed the Minions, in the small doses that they came in. But the extra-strength Minions is, for better or for worse, too much of a good thing."[69] Brian Truitt of USA Today gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying "Brian Lynch's screenplay features a series of amusing sight gags and physical comedy that mostly hits; watching the Minions play polo while riding Corgis is an exercise in cuteness."[70] Tom Russo of The Boston Globe gave the film two out four stars, saying "Impressive as it is that the filmmakers get so much comedic mileage out of their characters' half-intelligible prattling, the conventional dialogue is bafflingly flat."[71] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times said, "While Minions explores nominally new narrative ground, it folds neatly into a series that now includes two features, various shorts, books, video games, sheet music and a theme park attraction. So, you know, different but also the same."[72]
Tom Long of The Detroit News gave the film a B, saying "Minions is every bit as cute as it's supposed to be, a happily empty-headed animated frolic that rarely pauses to take a breath."[73] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film two out four stars, saying "It's not whether this prequel can mint money; that's a given. The questions is: Can the minions carry a movie all by their mischievous mini-selves? 'Fraid not."[74] Kerry Lengel of The Arizona Republic gave the film two and a half stars out of five, saying "Despite the dizzying pace of carefully calibrated incongruities, Minions somehow never generates more than the occasional chuckle."[75] Christopher Orr of The Atlantic said, "There's plenty of high-velocity comic inanity on display to keep kids happily diverted. But the movie's major flaw is an extension of its own premise: Search as they may, the minions never find a villain worthy of their subservience."[76] James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying "Inconsistent and undisciplined, Minions is more an adjunct to marketing than a legitimate motion picture."[77] Liam Lacey of The Globe and Mail gave the film two out of four stars, saying "With its episodic stream of slapstick gags, Minions has moments of piquant absurdity, but mostly its shrill-but-cutesy anarchy works as a visual sugar rush for the preschool set."[78]
Soundtrack
| Minions: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | ||||
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| Film score by Heitor Pereira | ||||
| Released | July 10, 2015 | |||
| Recorded | 2015 | |||
| Genre | Score | |||
| Length | 67:11 | |||
| Label | Back Lot Music | |||
| Heitor Pereira film scores chronology | ||||
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