'Despicable Me 2' Flourished While 'The Lone Ranger' Flopped Over the July 4 Weekend (DIS)

Two films that opened over the July 4 holiday weekend had drastically different results along with drastically different budgets. One movie scored big and one will likely find company with the biggest Hollywood flops ever.

First, the winner. “Despicable Me 2” brought in $142.1 million from Wednesday to Sunday. The impressive haul edges it past “Toy Story 3” as the top five-day grossing animated feature ever, according to Time.

Adding international revenue, “Despicable Me 2” has grossed a total of $293.2 million since opening. Comcast CMCSA-owned Universal has to like these numbers especially since it only cost $76 million to make—a bargain by modern-day animated movie standards.

The original “Despicable Me” earned $543.1 million but the second installment is expected to earn more than $700 million worldwide.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for “The Lone Ranger.” Disney DIS has to be happy that, “Oz the Great and Powerful” did so well because the studio will likely have to take a big write-down for what appears to be a giant flop. The film earned about $29.4 million over the five-day period ending Sunday.

Related: Slideshow: John Carter, The Lone Ranger and Other Box Office Flops

That’s worse than the Disney flop that all flops are now judged against. Last year’s sci-fi drama, “John Carter” is still talked about as one of the most costly failures in recent Disney movie history but it brought in $30.1 million in its first five days—more than “The Lone Ranger. It went on to make an unfortunate $73 million for a loss of $200 million.

“The Lone Ranger” might be setting up for the same fate. The film was plagued with a ballooning budget and filming delays that forced Disney to invest $225 million into the film, according to, The Wrap.

There are plenty of reasons why the film will likely be a failure, according to reviewers. First, westerns were once the cornerstone of Hollywood but the people who lived during the height of that era are now in their 70s and 80s. Studios know that the bulk of their paying audience is under 25 and although the franchise has returned in low budget films and TV specials since the original series ended in 1957, to the under 25 crowd, this isn’t a remake of anything they know.

Second, Westerns are uniquely American and because of that, they don’t do well in international markets. Some films that bomb in American markets find success overseas but “The Lone Ranger” isn’t likely to be one of those.

The low budget “Despicable Me” wowed audiences while the mega-budget, “The Lone Ranger” will likely be one to forget. Aren’t you glad you don’t work for Disney Studios this week?

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Tim Parker had no position in the companies mentioned.