'Despicable Me 2' Crushes 'The Lone Ranger' And Breaks Box Office Records

For Fourth of July weekend moviegoers, it was all about the minions, and way less about Johnny Depp.

"Despicable Me 2," the 3D follow-up to the original 2010 animated flick, ruled the box office over the long weekend, raking in a huge $142 million, while Disney's high-budget western "The Lone Ranger," starring Johnny Depp and "The Social Network" 's Armie Hammer, flopped, only earning $48.9 million.

"We knew it was going to be hugely successful," Nikki Rocco, Universal's president of distribution, told Entertainment Weekly of "Despicable's" impressive numbers.

The film, which features of the voices of Steve Carell and SNL alum Kristen Wiig, helped set records, leading the box office to the best Independence Day weekend in history. It also edged out another popular summer sequel, "Monsters University," making $82.5 million between Friday and Sunday to the Pixar flicks $82.4 million.

On the other end of the spectrum, "The Lone Ranger," has Disney execs thinking about breaking even instead of breaking records. With a reported budget of $225 million, the flick has a long way to go.

"Obviously you're always hoping that your movies are going to connect with the broadest audience possible, so when it doesn't, it's disappointing," Dave Hollis, Disney's president of distribution, also told EW.

With Depp's star power and the direction of Gore Verbinski, who also directed the ultra-successful "Pirates of the Caribbean" films, the movie was set to be a hit, but "The Lone Ranger" isn't the only A-list-actor-featuring film to flop this summer. Will Smith's "After Earth" also disappointed at the box office last month when it opened with a mere $27 million.

Following "Despicable Me 2" and "The Lone Ranger," Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy's "The Heat," "Monsters University," and Brad Pitt's action flick "World War Z" rounded out the top five at the box office this weekend.