As far as the competition goes, “Kung Fu Panda 4” helped push that franchise past the $2 billion mark to become one of the top ten biggest animated franchises ever. That list also includes “Shrek” ($4 billion), “Toy Story” ($3.27 billion), “Ice Age” ($3.2 billion), “Frozen” ($2.7 billion), “Madagascar” ($2.25 billion), “Finding Nemo” ($1.9 billion), “The Incredibles” ($1.8 billion), and “How to Train Your Dragon” ($1.6 billion). Those numbers will change in the coming years as “Shrek 5” was recently announced by DreamWorks for a 2026 release. We’ve also got “Toy Story 5” and “Frozen 3” on the way from Disney. But with “Minions 3” on the way, this franchise has a commanding lead that Illumination clearly intends to hold onto.

One of the most remarkable things about this franchise, in hindsight, is its sheer consistency. “Despicable Me 2” became a gigantic breakout sequel, pulling in $975.2 million globally, which was close to double what the original did. Perhaps most importantly, Illumination and Universal have worked incredibly hard to make sure that one of these movies is in theaters every two to three years. To that end, “Minions 3” is dated for summer 2027.

On the flip side, it seems to be taking longer and longer for other franchises to get sequels in theaters. “The Batman” was one of the biggest hits of 2022, yet “The Batman: Part II” was recently delayed to 2026. Similarly, Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” was a big hit in 2021, a sequel entered development, and we’ve heard next to nothing about it since. Those breaks can be a killer. Yet, “Despicable Me” runs like a finely tuned engine, and that has worked to benefit Universal, Illumination, and theaters a great deal. It’s undeniably impressive.

“Despicable Me 4” is in theaters now.