‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ dominates domestic box office

Universal Pictures’ “Minions: The Rise of Gru” rose to the top of the domestic box office this weekend, collecting $108.5 million, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore.

The latest installment in the blockbuster animated franchise is expected to gross $127.9 million by the end of the Fourth of July weekend. Still going strong in second place is Paramount Pictures’ “Top Gun: Maverick,” which made $25.5 million in its sixth weekend for a North American cumulative of $564 million.

Rounding out the top five are Warner Bros.’ “Elvis,” which added $19 million in its sophomore weekend for a North American cumulative of $67.3 million; Universal Pictures’ “Jurassic World Dominion,” which devoured $15.7 million in its fourth weekend for a North American cumulative of $331.8 million; and Universal Pictures’ “The Black Phone,” which scared up $12.3 million in its second weekend for a North American cumulative of $47.5 million.

Directed by Kyle Balda, Brad Ableson and Jonathan del Val, “Minions: The Rise of Gru” tells the origin story of evil mastermind Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) through the enlarged eyes of his silly, babbling yellow helpers (voiced by Pierre Coffin).

The sixth movie in the cartoon saga – which launched in 2010 with “Despicable Me” – received a 72% fresh rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes and an A-grade from audiences polled by CinemaScore.

Opening in wide release next weekend is Disney and Marvel’s “Thor: Love and Thunder.”