MINIONS SLIP ON A BANANA PEEL! Box Office Sequel Stumbles to Franchise Low

Yellow alert! The Minions are usually unstoppable at the box office, but 'Minions & Monsters' just served up the franchise's lowest opening ever. According to Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Deadline, the animated sequel grabbed $39.5 million over the 3-day weekend and is headed toward a $64.5 million 5-day total from 4,243 North American theaters. For context, that's a HUGE step backward: the previous flick, 'Despicable Me 4,' opened to a whopping $122 million just two years ago.

The sequel claimed the No. 1 spot on Friday with $16 million, but things cooled off fast through the holiday weekend. Industry watchers are scratching their heads over why audiences didn't line up for more goofy Minion antics, especially during the July 4th frame when families typically flock to multiplexes.

Still, Universal and Illumination aren't ready to panic just yet. The studios are banking on word-of-mouth and the weekend's family appeal to give the picture legs as summer rolls on. Nothing's officially written in stone yet — these numbers could shift as the final tallies come in. But one thing's for sure: someone's gotta tell the Minions that their reign of box office domination might be slipping.