Despicable Me 2 is a 2013 American 3D computer-animated comedy film and the sequel to the 2010 animated film Despicable Me. Produced by Illumination Entertainment for Universal Pictures, and animated by Illumination Mac Guff, the film is directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, and written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio.
Steve Carell, Russell Brand and Miranda Cosgrove reprise their roles as Gru, Dr. Nefario and Margo, respectively. Kristen Wiig, who played Miss Hattie in the first film, voices agent Lucy Wilde, while Ken Jeong, who played the Talk Show Host, voices Floyd Eagle-san. New cast members include Benjamin Bratt as Eduardo "El Macho" Pérez and Steve Coogan as Silas Ramsbottom, head of the Anti-Villain League (AVL).
The film premiered on June 5, 2013 in Australia, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 3, 2013. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, and was nominated for Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and for Academy Award for Best Original Song (for "Happy"), losing both to Disney's Frozen. Grossing over $970 million worldwide against its budget of $76 million, the film became the second-highest-grossing animated film of 2013 and the third-highest-grossing film of 2013. It is also the most profitable film in the 101-year history of Universal Studios.
A prequel/spin-off film, Minions, focusing on the little yellow henchmen before they met Gru, was released on July 10, 2015. A third film, Despicable Me 3, is scheduled to be released on June 30, 2017.
Box office
Despicable Me 2 grossed $368 million in North America, and $602.7 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $970.8 million. Calculating in all expenses, Deadline.com estimated that the film made a profit of $394.5 million. It is currently the twenty-fourth highest-grossing film, the fourth highest-grossing animated film, the third highest-grossing 2013 film (behind Frozen and Iron Man 3), the second highest-grossing 2013 animated film, the highest-grossing Illumination Entertainment film, and the second highest-grossing Universal Studios film (behind Jurassic Park). With a budget of $76 million. the film is the most profitable film in the 101-year history of Universal Studios.
North America
Despicable Me 2 is the twenty-sixth highest-grossing film, the fourth highest-grossing 2013 film,[113] the sixth highest-grossing animated film, the seventh highest-grossing 3-D film,[115] and the highest-grossing Illumination Entertainment film.[109] It is the sixth animated film to pass the $300 million mark. The film opened on Wednesday, July 3, 2013 at first place with $35.0 million (including $4.7 million from Tuesday night showings). Its opening-day gross stands as third highest for an animated feature. and the seventh highest among films opening on a Wednesday.The film then dropped 30% to $24.5 million on Thursday, marking the second-largest non-opening Thursday gross. Over the five-day Independence Day weekend (Wednesday-to-Sunday, including Tuesday night showings), the film earned $143.1 million, the highest five-day start for an animated film (ahead of Toy Story 3 's $141.0 million five-day debut). During the traditional three-day opening weekend (Friday-to-Sunday), the film earned $83.5 million. The film's three-day opening-weekend gross was the largest among Illumination Entertainment films, the third largest for an Independence Day holiday, the fourth largest among animated films, the seventh largest among films released in July, and the tenth largest among films not released on a Friday.The film remained in the first position at the box office for two consecutive weekends.
Other countries
Despicable Me 2 is the twenty-seventh highest-grossing film, the third highest-grossing animated film, the fourth highest-grossing Universal film, and the third highest-grossing 2013 film. It is also only the fourth animated film to have grossed over $600 million. On its first weekend, Despicable Me 2 opened only in Australia with $6.66 million, ahead of Monsters University which opened on the same weekend. The film set an opening-day record in Latvia. In total, it opened at number one in 67 territories, and set opening-weekend records among animated films in Latin America, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Lebanon, as well as opening-weekend records among all films in South Africa and Venezuela. The film remained in the first position at the box office for two consecutive weekends during July 2013. The film's largest openings occurred in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Malta ($22.5 million), China ($15.4 million) and Mexico ($14.9 million). In total earnings, its largest markets were the United Kingdom, Ireland and Malta ($72.2 million), China ($53.0 million) and Mexico ($47.7 million).
