'Despicable Me 3' smashes US holiday weekend box office

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Despicable Me 3, the latest installment of the animated crime caper series, smashed the North American box office through the US holiday weekend, taking in nearly 100 million US dollars, industry figures showed Wednesday.

The latest installment of the franchise that opened in theaters last Friday hauled in 99 million US dollars through the five-day weekend, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Steve Carell stars as the voice of "despicable" bad guy-turned-protagonist Gru, and his twin brother Dru, in the Universal film.

Scene from movie Despicable Me 3. /‍VCG Photo‍

It also features Kristen Wiig as Gru's wife, Lucy, and "South Park" co-creator Trey Parker as Balthazar Bratt, a former child star and evil villain whose fashion sense is stuck in the '80s.

Debuting in second place was hotly anticipated heist thriller Baby Driver, with 30 million US dollars. Ansel Elgort stars as a gifted getaway driver who suffers from tinnitus, ringing in his ears, and has to play music on an iPod to concentrate when he is behind the wheel.

Falling to third after its debut weekend at the top of the box office was Transformers: The Last Knight, the fifth installment in the blockbuster series, which raked in 24 million US dollars. The film opened to what was by far the weakest debut in the franchise's history.

Minions attending the premiere of Despicable Me 2 in Los Angeles, California. /VCG Photo

Warner Bros. superhero action film Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot as the Amazonian goddess-princess, earned 24 million US dollars, landing in fourth place and bringing the film's total domestic ticket sales to 354.6 million US dollars in five weeks.

Meanwhile Pixar's Cars 3 cruised into fifth place, with 14.2 million US dollars in its third weekend. The animated movie features Lightning McQueen and his longtime friends fighting off a challenge from a new generation of racers, voiced by actors including Owen Wilson, Cristela Alonzo and Armie Hammer.

(Source: AFP)

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