The “Despicable Me” and “Minions” franchise is a box-office juggernaut, bringing in more than $5 billion across six movies. It’s the highest-grossing animated franchise of all time, and the latest installment, “Despicable Me 4,” is already the fifth highest-grossing movie of 2024. Indeterminately accented former villain Gru, his growing family, and his little yellow assistants the Minions have become indelible parts of pop culture.
“Despicable Me 4” returns the focus to Gru and his family after the 2022 prequel “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” with storylines for all of the series’ major characters. Steve Carell once again voices Gru, who’s targeted by villain Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell) and forced into hiding along with his wife Lucy (Kristen Wiig), his three daughters, and his newborn son Gru Jr. Some of the Minions join the family, while others end up at a secret facility where they’re given experimental superpowers.
It’s all very silly but also very popular, which means that “Despicable Me 4” will probably have a decently long run in theaters while audiences are still buying tickets. For devoted Minion-heads who want to watch the movie over and over, or families who aren’t interested in taking a trip to the theater, here’s everything we know so far about when “Despicable Me 4” will be available to stream.
When will 'Despicable Me 4' be available to stream?
Given its massive box-office success thus far, there’s a good chance that “Despicable Me 4” will enjoy a full theatrical run, which in 2024 amounts to around 45 days. That means that the movie should be available for digital rental and purchase sometime in mid-to-late August. It’s likely to be a premium rental at first, but for families who want to watch the movie together, even the premium price could represent a good value.
As a Universal release, “Despicable Me 4” will make its streaming debut on Universal-owned service Peacock. Universal’s last animated hit, “Kung Fu Panda 4,” premiered on Peacock about four months after its theatrical release, and if “Despicable Me 4” follows the same pattern, it should be on Peacock in early November.
Thanks to a deal signed between Universal and Netflix in 2021, all of Universal’s animated movies head to Netflix after four months on Peacock, so “Despicable Me 4” should be available to Netflix subscribers in spring 2025.
It will remain on Netflix for 10 months before heading back to Peacock for another four months. That gives fans plenty of ways to watch “Despicable Me 4” before the next “Minions” movie hits theaters in 2027.
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