Minions hit theaters Thursday night and has raked in $6.2 million so far.
The animated comedy is expected to pull in at least $100 million in its opening weekend at 4,302 locations.
If this happens, it would make the film the fourth movie this year to debut above the $100 million mark –joining Furious 7, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Jurassic World.
The first Despicable Me opened with a $56.3 million weekend in 2010 and went on to finish with $251 million in the U.S., while the sequel launched with $83.5 million in 2013 on its way to a $368 million domestic total.
The record for an animated film opening weekend is 2007’s “Shrek The Third” with $121.6 million, followed by 2010’s Toy Story 3 with $110.3 million.
Minions has already hauled more than $141 million in less than three weeks in foreign markets.