 Logo used since 2017 | |
| Formerly | Illumination Entertainment (2007–2017) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Division |
| Industry |
|
| Founded | January 17, 2007; 18 years ago (2007-01-17) |
| Founder | Chris Meledandri |
| Headquarters | 2105 Broadway,, United States |
Key people | |
Number of employees | 100 (2016)[3] |
| Parent | Universal Pictures |
| Divisions |
|
| Subsidiaries | Moonlight |
| Website | www |
Illumination (formerly known asIllumination Entertainment) is an Americananimation studio founded byChris Meledandri on January 17, 2007. It is a division ofUniversal Pictures,[5][6][7] which itself is a division ofComcast through theUniversal Filmed Entertainment Group, a unit ofNBCUniversal; Illumination produces the films, while Universal finances and distributes them.[6] The studio is best known for creating theDespicable Me,The Secret Life of Pets, andSing franchises; the adaptations ofDr. Seuss' booksThe Lorax andHow the Grinch Stole Christmas!; andNintendo video games, starting withThe Super Mario Bros. Movie.[8] TheMinions, characters from theDespicable Me series, are the mascots of the studio.
Illumination has produced15 feature films, with an average gross of $711 million per film. Three of the studio's films—Minions (2015),Despicable Me 3 (2017) andThe Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)—are all among the50 highest-grossing films of all time, with the latter having thehighest-grossing opening for an animated film in its initial release; eight of their films are also among the50 highest-grossing animated films. Its first film,Despicable Me, was released on July 9, 2010, and its latest film,Despicable Me 4, was released on July 3, 2024; their upcoming slate of films includesThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie on April 3, 2026, andMinions 3 on July 1, 2026. Additionally, two untitled films are scheduled for release on April 16, 2027 and April 14, 2028.[9]
After the releases ofThe Snow Queen andPinocchio in Outer Space from 1959 to 1965, then the second and official closure ofWalter Lantz Productions in March 1972 and prior to the release ofDespicable Me, Universal distributed a few animated films from 1986 to 2009 that were produced by outside studios, includingAn American Tail,The Land Before Time,Jetsons: The Movie, films byAmblimation (An American Tail: Fievel Goes West,We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story, andBalto),The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle,Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie, while theirin-house animation studio (which is part ofUniversal Studios Family Productions) producedCurious George in 2006,The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie, andThe Tale of Despereaux, as well asCoraline and9 (both under its sister unit,Focus Features).
Meledandri left as President of20th Century Fox Animation andBlue Sky Studios in early 2007. While at those companies he supervised or executive-produced movies includingIce Age,Robots,Ice Age: The Meltdown, andDr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!. After leaving, he founded Illumination Entertainment and a deal was announced positioning Illumination Entertainment asUniversal's family entertainment arm, that would produce one to two films a year starting in 2010.[10] As part of the deal, Illumination retains creative control andUniversal Pictures exclusively distributes the films.[11]
In 2011, Illumination acquired the animation department of the French animation and visual effects studioMac Guff, which animatedDespicable Me andDr. Seuss' The Lorax, and formed Illumination Mac Guff (laterIllumination Studios Paris).[12][13][14]
On August 22, 2016, NBCUniversal acquired competing studioDreamWorks Animation, which fueled speculation that Meledandri was to oversee both studios.[15][16][17] While he had been approached by NBCUniversal to oversee both studios, he turned down the offer and later explained "I love the process of making films and working with artists. I don't think I'm particularly great at managing companies".[18] Meledandri instead became a consultant for the latter.
On September 23, 2022, Illumination announced its hiring of formerNetflix head of adult animation Mike Moon as senior creative advisor, and a new label led by Moon known as Moonlight, which will aim to "produce animated films that push beyond the family genre".[19][20]
In a similar fashion toSony Pictures Animation andWarner Bros. Pictures Animation, Illumination does not produce its films in-house where it is based inSanta Monica, but rather outsources the animation production of its films to other studios. Most of its films are animated byIllumination Studios Paris,[3] a subsidiary formed through the purchase ofMac Guff (which animatedthe firstDespicable Me).[21][22] So far, the only Illumination film not to be animated by Illumination Studios Paris or Mac Guff wasHop, which was animated byRhythm & Hues Studios.[23]
Not unlikePixar, in its early days Illumination depended on a core group of directors and writers to create its films. The directors ofDespicable Me,Pierre Coffin andChris Renaud, also directed or co-directedDr. Seuss' The Lorax,Despicable Me 2,Minions,The Secret Life of Pets, andDespicable Me 3. ScreenwritersCinco Paul and Ken Daurio (who had writtenDr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! for Meledandri at Fox) wrote or co-wroteDespicable Me,Hop,Dr. Seuss' The Lorax,Despicable Me 2,The Secret Life of Pets, andDespicable Me 3, while screenwriterBrian Lynch wrote or co-wroteHop,Minions, andThe Secret Life of Pets.
Illumination's films generally have a budget between $60–80 million. Meledandri prefers to keep Illumination adhering to a low-cost model, recognising that "strict cost controls and hit animated films are not mutually exclusive". In an industry where film expenses often exceed $100 million, Illumination's first two releases were completed with significantly lower budgets, consideringDespicable Me's $69 million budget andHop's $63 million budget. One way the company sustains a lean financial model is by employing cost-conscious animation techniques that lower the expenses and render times of its computer graphics.[24] To date,The Super Mario Bros. Movie andDespicable Me 4 are the studio's most expensive films, both with a $100 million budget.[25][26]
| 2010 | Despicable Me |
|---|---|
| 2011 | Hop |
| 2012 | The Lorax |
| 2013 | Despicable Me 2 |
| 2014 | |
| 2015 | Minions |
| 2016 | The Secret Life of Pets |
| Sing | |
| 2017 | Despicable Me 3 |
| 2018 | The Grinch |
| 2019 | The Secret Life of Pets 2 |
| 2020 | |
| 2021 | Sing 2 |
| 2022 | Minions: The Rise of Gru |
| 2023 | The Super Mario Bros. Movie |
| Migration | |
| 2024 | Despicable Me 4 |
| 2025 | |
| 2026 | The Super Mario Galaxy Movie |
| Minions 3 |
The studio's first film,Despicable Me, directed byChris Renaud andPierre Coffin, was released on July 9, 2010, and was a commercial success, earning $56 million on its opening weekend, and going on to ticket sales of $251 million domestically and $543 million worldwide.[27][28] Illumination's second film wasHop, which usedlive-action animation. Directed by Tim Hill and released on April 1, 2011, the film had a $37 million opening, ending up with $108 million domestically and $183 million worldwide.[29]Hop was followed byan adaptation ofDr. Seuss'The Lorax (also directed by Renaud), which debuted on March 2, 2012, earning $70 million on its opening weekend, and with eventual totals of $214 million in the US market and $348 million worldwide. The studio's firstsequel,Despicable Me 2, again directed by Renaud and Coffin, opened in the United States on July 3, 2013, to a domestic five-day opening weekend of $142 million (and $82 million over the regular three-day frame), making it, at the time of its release, the biggest animated film to open on that frame.[30] The film would go on to earn $368 million domestically and $970 million worldwide,[31][32] becoming the second highest-grossing2013 animated film and breaking a record as the most profitableUniversal Pictures film in its 100-year history.[33] A spin-off of theDespicable Me franchise, titledMinions, directed by Coffin and newcomerKyle Balda, was released on July 10, 2015[34] to a domestic opening weekend of $115 million.[35] The film would go on to gross $336 million domestically and $823 million overseas, amounting to a worldwide total of $1.159 billion, making it the highest-grossing animated film of 2015 and, at the time of its release, the second highest-grossing animated film of all time, behindWalt Disney Animation Studios'Frozen (2013).[36][37]
The Secret Life of Pets was released on July 8, 2016.[38] Directed by Renaud andYarrow Cheney, the film would earn $104 million in its opening weekend, going on to gross $368 million domestically, and $875 million worldwide.Sing, a comedy written and directed byGarth Jennings, was released on December 21, 2016.[39] It was the first movie for the studio to have a Christmas release. The film would earn $56 million in its first 5 days, grossing $270 million stateside and $634 million worldwide. It also holds the record for the highest-grossing film not to ever be at No. 1 in its run.Despicable Me 3, which reunited Coffin and Balda as directors, was released on June 30, 2017, to a $75 million domestic opening weekend.[40] The film would then go on to gross $264 million domestically and $1.034 billion worldwide, making it the second film from the studio to cross the $1 billion mark, as well as highest-grossing animated film of 2017. At the time of its release, it also set a record for the highest theatre count ever with 4,536 theatres in its second week.[41] The film that followed was an adaptation of Dr. Seuss'How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, simply titledThe Grinch, which was released on November 9, 2018, withScott Mosier and Cheney as directors and featuring a screenplay by Michael LeSieur andTommy Swerdlow.[39] The film opened to $67 million in its first domestic weekend[42] and went on to earn $271 million stateside and $513 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Christmas film of all time.[43]The Secret Life of Pets 2, again directed by Renaud, was released on June 7, 2019, to a domestic opening weekend of $47 million,[44] going on to gross $159 million stateside and $446 million worldwide, making less than half of its predecessor.[45]
It was followed bySing 2, again directed by Jennings, which was released on December 22, 2021. Despite opening to a modest $41 million over a five-day weekend (and $23 million over the normal three-day frame),[46] the film would eventually become the highest-grossing animated film of 2021, as well as the highest-grossing animated film released during theCOVID-19 pandemic, earning $163 million stateside and $408 million worldwide.[47]Minions: The Rise of Gru, directed by Balda, was released on July 1, 2022, after a delay of two years caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[48][49][50] The film earned $125 million stateside over the four-day July 4 weekend, a new record over said timeframe.[51] The film would go on to overtakeSing 2 as the highest-grossing animated film during the pandemic, with $369 million domestically and $939 million worldwide.[52][53]
The Super Mario Bros. Movie, an animated film based on theMario video game franchise as a collaboration withNintendo directed byAaron Horvath andMichael Jelenic, was released on April 5, 2023.[54][18][55][56] The film debuted to a $146.4 million domestic opening weekend, holding several box office records including the highest opening weekend for a video game adaptation as well as the highest opening weekend for Illumination.[57][58] The film would go on to gross $574.9 million domestically and $1.36 billion worldwide, becoming the third Illumination film to cross the $1 billion mark, as well as the second highest-grossing film of 2023.[59][60]Migration, an original film directed byBenjamin Renner, was released on December 22, 2023.[61][62] It was followed byDespicable Me 4, directed by Renaud, on July 3, 2024.[61]
On May 19, 2011, Illumination announced that it would be working withUniversal Pictures to createDespicable Me Minion Mayhem, a 3-D ride atUniversal Destinations & Experiences inOrlando,Hollywood, andOsaka.[63] The ride officially opened on July 2, 2012, in Orlando, in Hollywood on April 12, 2014, and in Osaka on April 21, 2017. In April 2019, it was announced they would collaborate again on the creation ofThe Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash!, adark ride attraction atUniversal Studios Hollywood.[64][65] While its opening was scheduled for March 27, 2020, it was delayed until further notice due tothe outbreak of COVID-19 in California.[66] It eventually opened on April 8, 2021.[67]
Future projects includeThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie on April 3, 2026,Minions 3 on July 1, 2026, and an unannounced untitled Illumination film sceduled for release on April 16, 2027.[68][69][70][71][72][73] Other films the studio has in development includeBig Tree, a film based on an illustrated novel byBrian Selznick from an idea by Meledandri andSteven Spielberg,[74]The Secret Life of Pets 3,[75]Sing 3,[76] and an original animated film with frequent collaborator and musicianPharrell Williams that will be "made from scratch."[18] Additionally, Illumination is in negotiations with toy companyMattel to produce an animated film based on theBarbie series of fashion dolls.[77][78][79]
In addition, two web short series are in development by Pierre Coffin: AMinions spin-off titledWho's Who, which was released on July 13, 2023, and an original series titledBones Story. The shorts are released onTikTok and subsequently onYouTube.[76]
| Title | Films | Shorts | Release dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Despicable Me /Minions | 6 | 20 | 2010–present |
| The Secret Life of Pets | 2 | 3 | 2016–present |
| Sing | 6 | ||
| The Super Mario Bros. Movie | 1 | 0 | 2023–present |
Minions3Shrek5 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).Despicable Me 3 (4,536 theaters) - $33.3 M
...with only one other event film expected in the long run, that being Illumination/Universal's Sing 2, which is notching a $41M 5-day start.
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