Despicable Me 4 lands the number one spot at the Fourth Of July box office with $20.4M - while Inside Out 2 follows with $7.2M as it enters the half million mark

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Despicable Me 4 and Inside Out 2 were Independence Day's biggest box office earners.

The fourth installment of the animated franchise took home the number one spot yesterday with $20.4 million, while the widely-praised sequel to Inside Out came in second with $7.2 million on July 4th, according to Deadline. 

So far, Despicable Me 4 has made $47 million since its July 3 opening.  

It's also one of the best performing films of the franchise at the July 4th box office, with Minions: Rise of Gru, raking in $16 on the holiday and Despicable Me 3 taking in $12.7M on Independence Day 2017.

However, Despicable Me 4's holiday numbers fall short of those earned by Despicable Me 2 in 2013; that film made $24.5 at the Fourth of July box office.

On Thursday, Inside Out 2 earned $7.2 million, catapulting it into the half billion mark. It now has made $503.6M.

Kelsey Mann directed Inside Out 2, which picks up with Riley (Kensington Tallman) as she turns 13 and experiences new emotions like Anxiety (Maya Hawke) and Envy (Ayo Edebiri ) to Joy's (Amy Poehler) party. It has received glowing reviews from critics. 

Meanwhile, A Quiet Place made $4.7 million on the Fourth of July. 

Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot made $3.1 M yesterday while the first part of Kevin Costner's western, Horizon, made $1.87M.

Costner's film was released last week and has so far earned $14.8M. 

The horror film was released June 27 and has now officially made $73.3M at the box office - a 9% increase over what its predecessor, A Quiet Place, made during its first week back in 2018, according to Deadline. 

The original Despicable Me film was released in 2010, and its two sequels debuted in 2013 and 2017, respectively.

A duo of prequel films, entitled Minions and Minions: The Rise Of Gru, were released in 2015 and 2022, respectively.

Steve Carrell has lent his voice again to the lead role of Dru, while his on-screen wife Lucy Wilde is played by Kristen Wiig. The fourth film also features the voices of Will Ferrell, Miranda Cosgrove, Stephen Colbert and Chloe Fineman.

Inside Out 2 has become a critical hit along with a commercial hit since its June 14 release, scoring a 90% rating from the critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The Pixar film has remained at the top of the box office for the last three weekends in a row, according to Variety. 

The first movie - which debuted in 2015 - had a 98% RT score, earning $356.9 million domestic and $858.8 million worldwide from a $175 million budget. 

As for Horizon, it remains to be seen how the lukewarm reception from both critics and the box office will affect the future of this potential franchise.

The second chapter in this saga will debut in theaters August, with the filmmaker planning two more films.

Production has already started in the third film, with the fourth and final film in development, though it's unclear when that may start filming.

However if the second chapter bombs as well, there may be pressure to pull the plug entirely, though it remains to be seen if that will be the case.