CNNWF - 'Minions' swarm into theaters to take on Elvis Cruise

The box office is set to look little, yellow - and different this weekend, as a steadily building animation franchise tests the resilience of family films in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minions: The Rise of Gru ( NASDAQ: CMCSA ), Universal's latest prequel in what has become a five-film series, hits 4,400 screens for the long holiday weekend, and it's set to become the latest in a string of new releases topping the charts for domestic grosses.

While movies on the whole suffered during theater closures in the pandemic, family films have had a harder go, thanks in part to more limited approval and availability of vaccines for young children. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ( PARA ) ( PARAA ) opened to $72M in April - and after scoring a healthy $10.75M in Thursday previews, the new Minions is likely headed for an opening in that same range.

If the rest of the films in its series are any indication, it could prove to be a global cash cow for Universal ( CMCSA ). The original film, Despicable Me, grossed $543M worldwide, Box Office Mojo notes; its sequel grossed $971M, while the other two films in the series built to worldwide totals of $1.159B and $1.035B.

First, Minions has has to wrestle with some strong content still in theaters. Elvis ( WBD ) is looking to hold business after its debut weekend edged Top Gun: Maverick ( PARA ) ( PARAA ) for box-office supremacy, $31.1M to $29.6M - but Tom Cruise in a jet plane has proved to have extraordinary holding power.

Maverick has moved up to become the No. 14-grossing domestic film of all time, with its $534.5M total passing Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Next in its sights this weekend: The Dark Knight at $535M, and The Lion King at $543.6M.

And as always, celebrating a newly busy June-July season are the movie exhibitors: AMC Entertainment ( AMC ); Cineworld (OTCPK:CNNWF); Cinemark ( CNK ); ( IMAX ); Marcus ( MCS ); Reading International ( RDI ); Cineplex (OTCPK:CPXGF); National CineMedia ( NCMI ).

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