List of Illumination films

Current logo, used first in Despicable Me 3 (2017)

This is a list of productions produced by Illumination (formerly known as Illumination Entertainment), an American film and animation studio based in Santa Monica, California, United States. This includes feature films, television specials, shorts, and digital series. As of 2023, Illumination has released 14 feature films, which were all distributed by Universal Pictures, with their first being Despicable Me on July 9, 2010, and their latest being Migration on December 22, 2023.

Their upcoming slate of films includes Despicable Me 4 on July 3, 2024.

Feature films

All films are co-produced and distributed by Universal Pictures; with the exceptions of Hop, which is a co-production with Relativity Media, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which is a co-production with Nintendo.

Released

Film Release date Director(s) Writer(s) Producer(s) Composer(s) Animation service(s)
Despicable Me July 9, 2010 Chris Renaud
Pierre Coffin 		Based on an original story by:
Sergio Pablos 		Chris Meledandri
Janet Healy
John Cohen 		Heitor Pereira
(score)
Pharrell Williams
(songs and themes) 		Mac Guff
Cinco Paul
Ken Daurio
(screenplay)
Hop April 1, 2011 Tim Hill Cinco Paul
Ken Daurio
(story)
Cinco Paul
Ken Daurio
Brian Lynch
(screenplay) 		Chris Meledandri
Michele Imperato Stabile 		Christopher Lennertz Rhythm and Hues
The Lorax March 2, 2012 Chris Renaud
Co-director:
Kyle Balda 		Based on the book by:
Dr. Seuss 		Chris Meledandri
Janet Healy 		John Powell
(score)
John Powell
Cinco Paul
(songs) 		Illumination Mac Guff
Mac Guff[1]
Cinco Paul
Ken Daurio
(screenplay)
Despicable Me 2 July 3, 2013 Chris Renaud
Pierre Coffin 		Cinco Paul
Ken Daurio 		Heitor Pereira
(score)
Pharrell Williams
(songs and themes) 		Illumination Mac Guff
Minions July 10, 2015 Pierre Coffin
Kyle Balda 		Brian Lynch Heitor Pereira
The Secret Life of Pets July 8, 2016 Chris Renaud
Co-director:
Yarrow Cheney 		Cinco Paul
Ken Daurio
Brian Lynch 		Alexandre Desplat
Sing December 21, 2016 Garth Jennings
Co-director:
Christophe Lourdelet 		Garth Jennings Joby Talbot
Despicable Me 3 June 30, 2017 Pierre Coffin
Kyle Balda
Co-director:
Eric Guillon 		Cinco Paul
Ken Daurio 		Heitor Pereira
(score)
Pharrell Williams
(songs and themes)
The Grinch November 9, 2018 Scott Mosier
Yarrow Cheney 		Based on the book by:
Dr. Seuss 		Danny Elfman
Michael LeSieur
Tommy Swerdlow
(screenplay)
The Secret Life of Pets 2 June 7, 2019 Chris Renaud
Co-director:
Jonathan del Val 		Brian Lynch Alexandre Desplat
Sing 2 December 22, 2021 Garth Jennings
Co-director:
Christophe Lourdelet 		Garth Jennings Joby Talbot Illumination Studios Paris
Minions: The Rise of Gru July 1, 2022 Kyle Balda
Co-directors:
Brad Ableson
Jonathan del Val 		Brian Lynch
Matthew Fogel
(story)
Matthew Fogel
(screenplay) 		Chris Meledandri
Janet Healy
Chris Renaud 		Heitor Pereira
The Super Mario Bros. Movie April 5, 2023 Aaron Horvath
Michael Jelenic
Co-directors:
Pierre Leduc
Fabien Polack 		Based on the video game franchise by
Nintendo 		Chris Meledandri
Shigeru Miyamoto 		Brian Tyler
(score)
Koji Kondo
(themes)
Matthew Fogel
Migration December 22, 2023 Benjamin Renner
Co-director:
Guylo Homsy 		Mike White
Benjamin Renner
(story)
Mike White
(screenplay) 		Chris Meledandri John Powell

Upcoming

Film Release date Director(s) Writer(s) Producer(s) Composer(s) Animation service(s) Ref.
Despicable Me 4 July 3, 2024 Chris Renaud
Co-director:
Patrick Delage 		Mike White
Ken Daurio 		Chris Meledandri
Brett Hoffman 		TBA Illumination Studios Paris [2][3][4]

In development

Title Notes
Big Tree [5]
The Secret Life of Pets 3 [6]
Sing 3 [7]
Untitled Pharrell Williams film [8]
Untitled The Super Mario Bros. Movie Sequel

Short films

Title Release date Distribution/co-production with Animation service(s) Release with Note(s)
Home Makeover December 14, 2010 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Mac Guff Despicable Me Home video release
Orientation Day
Banana
Brad & Gary[9][10][11] July 1, 2011 Universal Pictures N/A Theatrical release
Phil's Dance Party March 23, 2012 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Rhythm and Hues Hop Home video release
Wagon Ho! August 7, 2012 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Dr. Seuss Enterprises		 Illumination Mac Guff The Lorax
Forces of Nature
Serenade
Puppy December 10, 2013 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Despicable Me 2
Panic in the Mailroom
Training Wheels
Cro Minion December 8, 2015 Minions
Competition
Binky Nelson Unpacified
Mower Minions July 8, 2016 Universal Pictures The Secret Life of Pets Theatrical release/Home video release
Norman Television December 6, 2016 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Home video release
Weenie
Gunter Babysits March 21, 2017 Sing
Love at First Sight
Eddie's Life Coach
The Secret Life of Kyle December 5, 2017 Despicable Me 3
Yellow is the New Black November 9, 2018 Universal Pictures The Grinch Theatrical release
The Dog Days of Winter November 23, 2018 NBCUniversal Television Distribution
Dr. Seuss Enterprises		 Trolls Holiday Television release
Santa's Little Helpers February 5, 2019 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment The Grinch Home video release
Super Gidget August 27, 2019 The Secret Life of Pets 2
Minion Scouts
Minions & Monsters June 11, 2021 NBCUniversal Television Distribution Minions: The Rise of Gru Television release/Home video release
For Gunter's Eyes Only March 29, 2022 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Illumination Studios Paris Sing 2 Home video release
Animal Attraction
Post Modern Minion September 6, 2022 Minions: The Rise of Gru
Penglai[12] September 16, 2022 Universal Pictures One and All Animation Studio N/A Limited theatrical release
Mooned December 22, 2023 Illumination Studios Paris Migration Theatrical release

Television specials

Title Release date Distribution/co-production with Animation service Network Shorts Included
Minions Holiday Special November 27, 2020 NBCUniversal Television Distribution Illumination Mac Guff NBC Santa's Little Helpers, Training Wheels, Puppy, and Minion Scouts
Minions & More 1 September 22, 2022 Illumination Studios Paris Netflix Puppy, The Dog Days of Winter, Minion Scouts, Norman Television, Training Wheels, Love at First Sight, The Secret Life of Kyle, Weenie, Forces of Nature, Santa's Little Helpers
Minions & More 2 November 8, 2022 Mower Minions, Super Gidget, Yellow is the New Black, Eddie's Life Coach, Competition, Serenade, Cro Minion, Wagon Ho!, Binky Nelson Unpacified, Panic in the Mailroom, Gunter Babysits

Series

Web series

Title Premiere date End date Networks
Saturday Morning Minions June 5, 2021 March 5, 2022 Facebook
Instagram
Who's Who? July 13, 2023 2023 TikTok
YouTube
Bones Story TBA

Unproduced films

Main article: List of unproduced Universal Pictures animated projects

Reception

Box office performance

Film Budget North America Overseas gross
(unadjusted) 		Worldwide gross
(unadjusted) 		Ref.
Opening Gross
(unadjusted)
Despicable Me $69 million $56.3 million $251.6 million $291.6 million $543.2 million [13]
Hop $63 million $37.5 million $108.5 million $75.8 million $184.4 million [14]
The Lorax $70 million $70.2 million $214.4 million $134.8 million $349.2 million [15]
Despicable Me 2 $76 million $83.5 million $368.0 million $602.7 million $970.8 million [16]
Minions $74 million $115.7 million $336.0 million $823.4 million $1.159 billion [17]
The Secret Life of Pets $75 million $104.3 million $368.3 million $525.9 million $894.3 million [18]
Sing $35.2 million $270.4 million $363.8 million $634.3 million [19]
Despicable Me 3 $80 million $72.4 million $264.6 million $770.2 million $1.034 billion [20]
The Grinch $75 million $67.5 million $271.4 million $255.4 million $526.8 million [21]
The Secret Life of Pets 2 $80 million $46.6 million $158.9 million $272.2 million $431.1 million [22]
Sing 2 $85 million $22.3 million $162.8 million $245.6 million $408.4 million [23]
Minions: The Rise of Gru $80–100 million $107.0 million $369.7 million $569.9 million $939.6 million [24][25][26]
The Super Mario Bros. Movie $100 million $146.3 million $574.9 million $787.8 million $1.363 billion [27]
Migration $72 million $12.5 million $101.2 million $104.8 million $206.1 million [28][29]

Critical and public response

Each film is linked to the "Critical response" section of its article.
Film Critical Public
Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore
Despicable Me 81% (202 reviews)[30] 72 (35 reviews)[31] A[32]
Hop 24% (139 reviews)[33] 41 (23 reviews)[34] A−[35]
The Lorax 54% (157 reviews)[36] 46 (30 reviews)[37] A[38]
Despicable Me 2 75% (186 reviews)[39] 62 (39 reviews)[40] A[32]
Minions 55% (226 reviews)[41] 56 (35 reviews)[42] A[32]
The Secret Life of Pets 72% (236 reviews)[43] 61 (39 reviews)[44] A−[45]
Sing 71% (189 reviews)[46] 59 (37 reviews)[47] A[38]
Despicable Me 3 59% (198 reviews)[48] 49 (37 reviews)[49] A–[32]
The Grinch 59% (193 reviews)[50] 51 (32 reviews)[51] A−[52]
The Secret Life of Pets 2 60% (164 reviews)[53] 55 (26 reviews)[54] A−[45]
Sing 2 72% (137 reviews)[55] 49 (28 reviews)[56] A+[57]
Minions: The Rise of Gru 70% (177 reviews)[58] 56 (41 reviews)[59] A[60]
The Super Mario Bros. Movie 59% (279 reviews)[61] 46 (53 reviews)[62] A[63]
Migration 73% (83 reviews)[64] 56 (20 reviews)[65] A[66]

See also

References

  1. ^ Pfanner, Eric (July 26, 2010). "Hollywood Animation With a Decidedly French Flavor". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  2. ^ Moreau, Jordan (February 18, 2022). "Despicable Me 4 Set for Summer 2024 by Illumination, Universal". Variety. Archived from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  3. ^ Grobar, Matt (June 28, 2022). "Universal Pushes Release Date for Illumination Comedy 'Migration'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  4. ^ "'Despicable Me 4' Trailer Arrives, Full Cast Revealed".
  5. ^ "Brian Selznick Book 'Big Tree,' Inspired by a Steven Spielberg and Chris Meledandri Idea, Set for Publication in 2023". The Hollywood Reporter. June 9, 2022.
  6. ^ "The Not Despicable Producer of Despicable Me". The Gary and Kenny Show (Podcast). Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  7. ^ Shanfeld, Brent Lang,Ethan; Lang, Brent; Shanfeld, Ethan (April 4, 2023). "'Shrek 5' With Original Cast, Donkey Spinoff With Eddie Murphy, 'Sing 3' and More Teased by Illumination's Chris Meledandri (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.{cite web}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ Lang, Brent (November 6, 2018). "Inside Illumination's Plans for Animated 'Super Mario Bros.' Movie". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  9. ^ "Brad & Gary". Seattle International Film Festival. Archived from the original on February 22, 2013. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  10. ^ "Brad & Gary". IMDb. July 2011. Archived from the original on April 3, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  11. ^ King, Susan (February 2, 2013). "40th Annie Award nominees and winners list". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  12. ^ Penglai, September 15, 2022, retrieved September 19, 2022
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  28. ^ "Migration". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
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  33. ^ "Hop". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 6, 2021. Edit this at Wikidata
  34. ^ "Hop". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  35. ^ Finke, Nikki (April 9, 2011). "Hop Holds #1, Lame Arthur Limps In #2". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
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  37. ^ "The Lorax". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  38. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 22, 2016). "'Rogue One' Targets $221.7M Opening Week; 'Sing' Raises Voice To $20M Over Two Days – Noon Update". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
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  40. ^ "Despicable Me 2". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  41. ^ "Minions". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 29, 2022. Edit this at Wikidata
  42. ^ "Minions". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  43. ^ "The Secret Life of Pets". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 10, 2021. Edit this at Wikidata
  44. ^ "The Secret Life of Pets". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  45. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 9, 2019). "Sequelitis Scorches Franchises To Box Office Lows: 'Secret Life Of Pets 2' $46M+, 'Dark Phoenix' Burnt To A Crisp With $33M+". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  46. ^ "Sing". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved July 12, 2023. Edit this at Wikidata
  47. ^ "Sing". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  48. ^ "Despicable Me 3". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 10, 2021. Edit this at Wikidata
  49. ^ "Despicable Me 3". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  50. ^ "The Grinch". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 9, 2021. Edit this at Wikidata
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  52. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 11, 2018). "'The Grinch' Who Stole Business: Dr. Seuss Pic Opening To $66M As 'Overlord' & 'Spider's Web' Wither – Sunday Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  53. ^ "The Secret Life of Pets 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 10, 2021. Edit this at Wikidata
  54. ^ "The Secret Life of Pets 2". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  55. ^ "Sing 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 29, 2022. Edit this at Wikidata
  56. ^ "Sing 2". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  57. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 26, 2021). "Spider-Man: No Way Home Third-Best Christmas Ever With $31.7M US; Domestic At $467M+ & $1.05B WW – Sunday Update". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 27, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  58. ^ "Minions: The Rise of Gru". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved July 9, 2022. Edit this at Wikidata
  59. ^ "Minions: The Rise of Gru". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  60. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 2, 2022). "Minions: The Rise Of Gru Raising Roof With Record $129M+ 4-Day For Independence Day & Illumination-Universal Pic – Saturday AM Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
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