‘Minions & Monsters’ Hit No. 1 Before Its Official Release - And It's Not The First Movie To Do It

Minions & Monsters (2026) is the latest entry in the long-running franchise and looks to play heavily on the weirdness of monster movies in Hollywood. There was never much doubt that the movie would do well, but even still, it’s a surprise to see it’s already hitting number 1 at the box office.

Realistically, this tactic isn’t new in cinema, but it does offer an interesting way to build hype for a movie: the early screening. This isn’t something new that’s appeared in the past few years, but it is something that has helped other movies before Minions & Monsters reach a similarly high success rate.

How Is ‘Minions & Monsters’ Already a Hit?

The latest entry in the franchise that started with Despicable Me (2010), Minions & Monsters, proves that the simplicity of the Minions is nothing to make fun of because it continues to turn classic cinematic ideas on its heads. Even now, days before its release, the movie is topping the box office charts thanks to preview screenings.

These screenings come in many forms, from event screenings to weekend screenings, sneak previews, holiday events, and fan-first screenings. The weekend preview was what worked in favor of Minions & Monsters, and it helped to build an impressive word of mouth way ahead of release.

There was always going to be a set demographic or audience that was going to see Minions & Monsters, but it’s the fact that these films constantly surprise by how entertaining they are that keeps the series alive. But no one would know this, or have their worries lessened, if not for these early screenings that remind fans of these studios and franchises that the spark is still alive and well.

‘Minions & Monsters’ Joins a Large Group of Successful Early Screenings

The shock isn’t that Minions & Monsters is No. 1 ahead of release. The shock is that the early screening tactic has continued to work for as long as it has. Minions & Monsters is just another film in a long line of now-praised movies that have done something similar, and each is unique in its own way.

In the case of a studio like Pixar, their fantasy adventure film Onward (2020) had private one-day screenings that helped get those longtime Pixar fans in theaters, even with the COVID-19 pandemic making it so hard.

More recently, Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) is having earlier ticketed screenings that will be available to those with an Amazon Prime account. Even if it’s a couple of days before release, the hype for the film alone will likely see a similar success to Minions & Monsters. 

But other animated movies like Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016) did the same thing and, like the Minions, likely helped keep the franchise alive. Preview screenings have always had an allure to them, and you will often find them for big-budget or family movies because those pull in the widest audience. Each film that does it has almost always been a hit, and it’s great to see Minions & Monsters join that club.

Preview Screenings Can Keep Theaters Alive

Following the COVID-19 pandemic and the advent of streaming and early digital releases of new movies, it’s been hard to get people back in theaters. Now, IMAX and Dolby Atmos screens are more important than ever to give people a reason to spend money to go see a movie. But early screenings are the secret ingredient to keep cinema alive.

There’s an allure to people hearing about a movie that’s not out yet from people who somehow already saw it. It’s equal parts easy and hard to get a ticket for an early screening, but for those who don’t know, they now want to see the movie even more or find their own early screening.

With that component alone, movie theaters become even more interesting because of these special events. Minions & Monsters deserves its early success, and it’s this same success that will keep the franchise and others alive that have done something similar.

Preview screenings are the best thing for movie theaters, and they’re a delight to experience with an audience. Minions & Monsters is just another example of this, and as even bigger movies get their own event screenings, it’ll be likely that more movies will hit No. 1 before its initial release.