Tops at the Box Office:'Despicable Me 2' Owns July 4th While 'The Lone Ranger' Misfires

1. Despicable Me 2- $82.5M/$142.1M
The Minions of Despicable Me 2 proved to be of sterner stuff than Disney's The Lone Ranger, dominating the July 4th holiday with a massive $142M over the five days, and $82.5M over the weekend. Universal debuted the first film three years ago with a surprising $56M, going on to gross more than $540M worldwide and launching what is an expanding franchise centered on Gru and his Minions. With an additional $151M overseas amounting to a global haul of $293M, Despicable Me 2 is poised to be the top-grossing animated film of 2013.
2. The Lone Ranger- $29.4M/$48.9M
Heads will roll for this, Kemosabe! Disney pegged their summer hopes on The Lone Ranger, reuniting Johnny Depp and the Pirates of the Caribbean team for what they hoped would be the beginning of another $1B franchise, but instead what they may have is the flop of the year. A dismal $9.7M Wednesday debut set the stage for what has been a daily ass-kicking at the hands of Despicable Me 2, with the strongest showing a $10.8M bow on Saturday. While there have been other high-profile bombs already this year, lookin' at you After Earth and Oblivion, The Lone Ranger is considerably worse due to its $225M+ cost. Disney had initially balked when director Gore Verbinski's budget began to skyrocket, even briefly pulling the plug on the whole thing, but were convinced to put it back on largely because of the potential of another 'Pirates'-sized hit. Those hopes are out the window, and even when foreign receipts are added into the mix the $73.2M total is paltry for a release of this magnitude. This probably won't effect Pirates 5, which is currently set for 2015, and it likely will have little effect on Alice in Wonderland 2, but it's clear that Depp's appeal is extraordinarily limited and dwindling fast.
3. The Heat- $25M/$86.4M
Slipping only 36% in its second week, The Heat continues to burn hot and will likely surpass $100M in a few days. It's another solid comedy hit for Melissa McCarthy, and considering Fox has already started work on a sequel it won't be the last time we see her and Sandra Bullock partnering up.
4. Monsters University- $19.6M/$216.1M
5. World War Z- $18.2M/$158.75M
6. White House Down- $13.5M/$50.5M
7. Man of Steel- $11.4M/$271.2M
8. Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain- $10.1M/$17.5M
If there was any doubt that Kevin Hart is one of today's hottest stars then the numbers for his concert film Let Me Explain should remove it. Opening with $17.5M over the five-day holiday, earning nearly 8x the $2.5M production budget, the comedy had the 2nd-highest per site average of any film in the Top 10. Not too shabby.
9. This Is the End- $5.8M/$85.5M
10. Now You See Me- $2.8M/$110.4M