Universal and Illumination Entertainment are making some changes to their release calendar. In the wake of the enormous success of Sing, which has now grossed $429.7 million worldwide, Illumination has unsurprisingly put Sing 2 on the schedule. The follow-up film will again hit the holiday corridor, as it’s now slated for release on Christmas Day, December 25, 2020. Additionally, The Secret Life of Pets 2 has been pushed from July 13, 2018 to July 3, 2019, nearly a full year, and Minions 2 will drop on July 3, 2020 instead of July 10th.
Illumination Entertainment made a big statement in 2016, proving that the studio can succeed outside its lucrative Despicable Me franchise. The studio opened with that film in 2010 to solid success, but its follow-ups Hop and The Lorax weren’t near as successful. Illumination stayed the course with Despicable Me 2 and Minions, both of which did well, but last summer’s The Secret Life of Pets was a test to see whether the studio could launch a new franchise. To the tune of $875.5 million worldwide, they did, and this past December’s Sing solidified Illumination’s status as a bona fide contender in the animation studio world alongside the likes of Pixar and DreamWorks Animation.
The studio has Despicable Me 3 on the horizon, opening this summer with South Park’s Trey Parker voicing the villain. And they’re also diving back into the Dr. Seuss world with the Benedict Cumberbatch-fronted How the Grinch Sold Christmas, with The Cat in the Hat also in the works.
Quality-wise, Illumination hasn’t been able to come close to the high art of Pixar or recent Disney Animation output, but the studio has certainly struck a chord with audiences as evidenced by the ambitious release dates announced today. Check out their full upcoming slate below.
- Despicable Me 3 – June 30, 2017
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas – November 9, 2018
- The Secret Life of Pets 2 – July 3, 2019
- Minions 2 – July 3, 2020
- Sing 2 – December 25, 2020