Illumination Is Bound To Repeat Super Mario’s Box Office Success & Beat Disney Again In 2024

Thanks to the upcoming release of Despicable Me 4, Illumination is poised to beat Disney yet again and follow up The Super Mario Bros. Movie‘s success. Disney is typically viewed as the king of animation thanks to decades of success stories critically and commercially. On top of delivering new movies that can become classics, the combination of Disney and Pixar’s work still manages to pull in massive box office hauls when everything goes right. However, Illumination’s run over the last several years has positioned the rival animated studio as Disney’s top competitor, especially as Disney’s animated movies have encountered some difficulties connecting with audiences.

2023 is the perfect example of how Illumination and Disney’s animated movies have fared at the box office. The Super Mario Bros. Movie easily became the highest-grossing animated movie of the year thanks to its $1.3 billion performance. Illumination’s massive success story contrasts starkly with how Disney did, as Elemental took a long time to barely become profitable and Wish could not hold a candle to The Super Mario Bros. Movie‘s box office. As if Disney’s loss to Illumination in 2023 wasn’t bad enough on its own, the studios’ 2024 movies indicate another Illumination win is on the horizon.

Despicable Me 4 Will Likely Be 2024’s Highest-Grossing Animated Movie

Looking ahead to the biggest movies of 2024, Despicable Me 4 is bound to be among the highest-grossing releases. It has a clear pathway to success to claim a massive record and be the highest-grossing animated movie too. There are plenty of potential contenders and animated films that are expected to do well, ranging from DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda 4 to Pixar’s Inside Out 2. There is also the animated Transformers movie Transformers One, Chris Pratt’s The Garfield Movie, and the anime prequel The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim slated to come out.

While it is fair to expect that most of these titles will make significant amounts of money, it would be surprising if any of them manage to outperform Despicable Me 4‘s box office. The sequel has a prime summer release date that is sure to attract plenty of families, but this is also the most successful animated movie franchise returning to theaters. Thanks to the previous three Despicable Me movies and two Minions spinoffs, the franchise has made over $4.6 billion at the box office. There is no doubt that Despicable Me 4 will blast that total past $5 billion, and the $6 billion total could even be in reach.

Despicable Me 4’s Success Will Continue Illumination’s 3-Year Dominance Over Disney

The likelihood of Despicable Me 4 beating all other animated movies in 2024 means a recent trend of Illumination beating Disney will continue. While both studios have had their share of success stories over the last decade, the last three years have seen Disney’s animated movies fail to beat the yearly competition from Illumination. The trend began in 2021 when Sing 2 ($408 million) surpassed Encanto ($257 million). In 2022, Minions: The Rise of Gru made $960 million and easily beat Disney’s unexpected box office flop, Lightyear ($226 million). The Super Mario Bros. Movie beat Disney again in 2023, as the $1.3 billion hit far outgrossed Elemental and Wish.

Despicable Me 4 is only going to extend the gap between Disney and Illumination’s animated movies at the box office recently. Over this three-year stretch, Illumination’s movies have averaged significantly more at the box office than Disney’s. The three Illumination hits average $903 million worldwide. Disney has released ten animated movies over the same time. Taking movies that are released directly on Disney+ for free out of the equation, the remaining eight qualifying titles average less than $200 million worldwide. The massive discrepancy between the box office performances is just as notable as the streak.

How Much Money Will Despicable Me 4 Make At The Box Office?

It is too early for official box office tracking data to emerge for Despicable Me 4, but the movie is still predicted to be a massive success for Illumination once again. The last four entries in the Despicable Me franchise have each made over $900 million worldwide. That appears to be the baseline for Despicable Me 4‘s box office, especially since Minions: The Rise of Gru surpassed that mark even after the pandemic changed the box office and viewing habits. There should be every expectation for Despicable Me 4 to make over $1 billion, and repeating The Super Mario Bros. Movie‘s level of success is also within reach.