Universal has decided to push back its Minions spinoff movie from Dec. 19, 2014 to July 10, 2015. The Hollywood Reporter points out that the shuffle will leave the studio without an animated movie next year, but will allow the Minions pic to open in the same time frame that Despicable Me 2 opened this year. In addition, the studio is moving its original July 2014 Illumination movie to Feb. 12, 2016.
This announcement comes a few days after Pixar announced that it is moving The Good Dinosaur from summer of 2014 to 2015. This marks the first time the studio has no movie in the calendar year since 2005.
Directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, Despicable Me 2 opened on July 2 in the U.S. and has grossed over $840.5 million worldwide and is reportedly the most profitable release in the history of Universal. In the summer of 2015, the Minions movie will be competing with familiar franchises such as a new Terminator reboot and the Independence Day sequel.
