Latest in Despicable Me 2

UPDATE, SATURDAY AM: As the little yellow fellows head towards a possible $120M+ weekend Stateside, Minions‘ international box office has now officially passed the $200M mark. This comes after an additional 12 offshore territories opened yesterday, bringing the overseas cume after just over three weeks to $209M. In…

Well, now that Universal‘s Despicable Me 2 has proven itself 2013’s Most Valuable Blockbuster, the film’s impresario, Illumination Entertainment founder Chris Meledandri (below), deserves to take a victory lap. More seriously, the tournament was conducted to give a clearer idea, beyond the weekend and annual box office…

It’s tipoff time for the championship matchup to determine Deadline’s Most Valuable Blockbuster of 2013. Stay tuned for our version of the postgame show, where we peel the curtain back on the data we commissioned from insiders to determine just how profitable a movie really is. The Matchup: After surviving a bruising…

We are down to the nitty gritty on Deadline's search for 2013's Most Valuable Blockbuster. This is the second of our two showdowns today. Fueled by the numbers furnished by our insiders, we'll find out just how profitable a movie really is. TODAY’S OTHER FINAL FOUR MATCHUP #1 ‘Iron Man 3’ Vs. #5 ‘The Hunger Games: Cat…

The final eight films in Deadline’s Most Valuable Blockbuster movie tournament face off today. This is the third of our quarterfinal matchups and for the first time we reveal the numbers behind the numbers that show just how profitable a movie really is. The Matchup: This amounts to an internal skirmish within…

The third of four posts today in Deadline's Most Valuable Blockbuster tournament. The subsequent rounds will play out next week. Other Matchups: #1 'Iron Man 3′ Vs. #16 'The Conjuring' #2 'Frozen' Vs. #15 'The Great Gatsby' #4 'Hobbit: Desolation Of Smaug' Vs. #13 'Oz The Great And Powerful' #5 'The Hunger Games: Catch…

What is it going to take for an animated pic to shatter the Best Picture live action ceiling? When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences created an animated feature category back in 2001, it was an official nod to the fact that the genre has evolved into a true art form. Before the category's existence, it…

The singer-songwriter-producer will sing “Happy,” a song he wrote and produced for Despicable Me 2. It’s a candidate for the Best Song award, along with “Ordinary Love” from Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, “Let It Go” from Frozen and “The Moon Song” from Her. Williams co-wrote and produced last year’s hit from Robin…

Disney's Frozen was on fire tonight at the 41st Annie Awards and now is generating real heat for the upcoming Academy Awards. Having made $864.4M worldwide at the box office since its late-November release, the 3D fantasy musical snagged 5 Annies tonight. Frozen won Best Animated Feature, Best Directing for Chris Buck…

The No. 1 cable operator and owner of NBCUniversal says this morning that it will increase its dividend by 15.4% to 90 cents a share annualized beginning in April, and will boost the share repurchase plan to $7.5B, including $3B in 2014. That news, plus some improving metrics from its cable systems, should impress…

UPDATED, MONDAY 3:55 PM: International numbers are flowing in and will be updated as they arrive in the below market by market breakouts. The Wolf Of Wall Street continues to show its teeth, grossing $17.4M in eight markets holding the No. 1 spots in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Spain, Australia and Switzerland. Norway…

Deadline International Editor Nancy Tartaglione and host David Bloom discuss the latest enticement to film Britain, a  marketing and distribution incentive package from the British Film Institute designed to give UK indie movies a better chance at a Sundance deal; why BAFTA thinks Gravity is a British film; prominent…