Film Review
Minions & Monsters (2026) Review: Is Illumination's Wildest Sequel Worth Watching?
What Is Minions & Monsters About?
Minions & Monsters is set in 1927, four decades before the original Minions movie, and follows the yellow henchmen as they try to make their own monster picture in Old Hollywood.
Their plan spirals when the creatures they are chasing turn out to be real, and the film becomes, in the words of its own marketing, the true story of how the Minions conquered Hollywood, became movie stars, lost everything, and then had to band together to save the planet from the mayhem they created.
The concept lets director Pierre Coffin and longtime collaborator Brian Lynch stage an affectionate send up of silent era cinema, complete with studio backlots, forgotten monster archetypes, and the industry's chaotic shift from silent film to sound.
At a lean one hour and thirty minutes, the film is one of the shortest entries in the seven film series, and reviewers have generally welcomed the tighter pacing after the more sprawling plots of recent sequels.
Cast and Voice Talent Behind the Chaos
Pierre Coffin again voices the Minions themselves, a role he has held since their debut in 2010. He is joined by an unusually decorated supporting cast for an animated comedy, including Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jeff Bridges, Jesse Eisenberg, Zoey Deutch, Bobby Moynihan, and Phil LaMarr. South Park co creator Trey Parker, who previously voiced villain Balthazar Bratt in Despicable Me 3, returns to play a new character named Goomi, while Janney reprises the franchise after her earlier role in the first Minions film.
Filmmaker George Lucas also has a voice cameo, reportedly added after producer Chris Meledandri learned Lucas was a genuine fan of the series.
The score comes from composer John Powell, marking his first Despicable Me franchise credit after longtime series composer Heitor Pereira. Powell has described his approach as deliberately over the top, aiming for music that is more theatrical and exaggerated than a typical family film score, fitting the movie's Old Hollywood setting.
Critical Reception: Why Reviewers Call It the Franchise Peak
The critical response to Minions & Monsters has been the strongest of any film in the series. The movie holds a stellar score in the low 90s on Rotten Tomatoes, comfortably ahead of the previous franchise best, the original 2010 Despicable Me.
RogerEbert.com critic Clint Worthington awarded it three and a half out of four stars, calling it the most cohesive and entertaining entry in the Minions series, while IGN's Eric Goldman scored it 8 out of 10, describing it as both a loving tribute to early Hollywood and a broader celebration of why cinema itself endures.
Variety's Guy Lodge praised the film as a clear high point for the franchise, and The Hollywood Reporter's Frank Scheck noted that while the plot becomes somewhat overstuffed, its satirical humor and dense visual gags are unusually sophisticated for the series. Audience reaction has matched the critical mood, with the film earning an A minus grade on CinemaScore exit polling, a strong result for a summer family release.
"The purest and latest distillation of the very impulses that have made cinema one of mankind's most enduring art forms."Clint Worthington, RogerEbert.com
Box Office Performance: A Domestic Slump, an International Triumph
Despite the reviews, Minions & Monsters has had an unusually split box office run. In North America, the film opened to roughly 36 million dollars over its traditional three day frame and about 61 million dollars across its five day July 4th holiday debut, the lowest opening of any film in the seven movie Despicable Me franchise, trailing even the original 2010 film.
Analysts have pointed to franchise fatigue after seven installments in sixteen years, along with a crowded early summer schedule, as likely explanations.
Overseas, the picture looks very different. The film brought in around 85 to 98 million dollars internationally in its second weekend alone, led by strong openings in China, Germany, the United Kingdom and Ireland, Mexico, and Spain, pushing its worldwide cumulative total to roughly 160 million dollars against an 85 million dollar production budget. Industry trackers note that the Despicable Me franchise has long depended on international audiences for its biggest paydays, and this film appears to be following that same pattern.
How It Compares to Earlier Despicable Me Films
The gap between critical acclaim and domestic box office becomes clearer when placed against the rest of the franchise. The table below compares five day holiday weekend openings for the films released over a comparable Independence Day stretch.
| Film | Year | 5 Day Domestic Opening | Rotten Tomatoes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Despicable Me | 2010 | ~$56M (3 day) | 80% |
| Despicable Me 3 | 2017 | $99M | 60% |
| Minions: The Rise of Gru | 2022 | $123M | 72% |
| Despicable Me 4 | 2024 | $122M | 68% |
| Minions & Monsters | 2026 | $61.4M | 91% |
The pattern is unusual for a legacy franchise. Minions & Monsters is the best reviewed film the series has produced, yet it opened furthest behind expectations domestically, a gap that box office analysts largely attribute to audience oversaturation rather than the quality of the film itself.
Visual Style, Music, and the Old Hollywood Homage
Much of the film's critical goodwill centers on its production design. Setting the story in 1927 gives the animators room to recreate silent film backlots, early monster movie tropes, and the industry's nervous transition into the sound era, when the Minions' own gibberish language becomes an obstacle to their stardom.
Reviewers have singled out the density of visual gags and historical references, with more than one critic suggesting the film rewards repeat viewings to catch everything packed into its brisk runtime. John Powell's intentionally theatrical, exaggerated score reinforces the golden age Hollywood tone throughout.
Should You Watch Minions & Monsters? Final Verdict
Minions & Monsters is a genuinely well crafted, visually rich comedy that succeeds at something the franchise has struggled with in recent entries, telling a focused story with a clear satirical target. Families looking for a fast, funny, nostalgia tinged trip to the cinema will likely find it the strongest Minions outing since the original.
Viewers fatigued by seven installments of yellow chaos, however, may find little here to change their minds, and the film's uneven second half keeps it from reaching classic status. It is a movie that critics have embraced more warmly than general audiences have shown up for, at least in North America, and that gap itself is one of the more interesting stories of the 2026 summer box office.
Director
Pierre Coffin
Studio
Illumination / Universal Pictures
Release Date
July 1, 2026
Rating
PG
Franchise Position
7th Despicable Me film, 3rd Minions film
Composer
John Powell
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