- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
'Minions' rule N.American theaters on July 4th weekend
"Minions: The Rise of Gru," the latest installment in the animated "Despicable Me" franchise, crushed the competition at the North American box office in its opening weekend, with an expected $127.9 million take over the four-day July 4th holiday.
Universal's "Minions" far outpaced the number two film, "Top Gun: Maverick," which came in at $32.5 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said Sunday.
"This is a sensational opening," said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.
"Family animation, more than any other genre, has struggled to find its footing during the pandemic," he said. "This weekend, 'Minions' is breaking through and big animation is back in business."
According to Variety, if confirmed, the box office haul would make the fifth chapter in the "Despicable Me" series about reformed super-villain Gru and his yellow Minions the highest film opening over Independence Day, besting 2011's "Transformers: Dark of the Moon."
Rolling along in second place is Paramount's "Top Gun: Maverick," the crowd-pleasing sequel to the original 1986 film that once again features Tom Cruise as cocky US Navy test pilot Pete "Maverick" Mitchell.
The film has raked in more than $1.1 billion worldwide.
Baz Luhrmann's music biopic "Elvis" -- starring relative newcomer Austin Butler as the King alongside Tom Hanks as his exploitative manager, Colonel Tom Parker -- dropped to third place in its second weekend of release, at $23.7 million.
Fourth place went to "Jurassic World Dominion," Universal's sixth installment in the "Jurassic Park" franchise, at $19.2 million.
The latest dinosaur frightfest stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard alongside franchise originals Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum.
Rounding out the top five was horror film "The Black Phone" starring Ethan Hawke as a serial killer, which earned $14.6 million in its second weekend in theaters.
Completing the top 10 were:
"Lightyear" ($8.1 million)
"Mr Malcolm's List" ($1 million)
"Everything Everywhere All At Once" ($673,000)
"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" (482,000)
"Marcel the Shell with Shoes On" ($307,750)
M.Fischer--AMWN