Despicable Me (film) followed by Despicable Me 3
Accolades
Sequels and prequels
Following the success of Despicable Me, Universal led to the development on a sequel, intent on capitalizing the original's popularity through that film's extensive marketing campaign. Despicable Me 2 (2013) surpassed the box-office take of Despicable Me, and received a similarly positive critical and audience response. They were preceded by Minions (2015), and followed by Despicable Me 3 (2017). The pictures each earned more than $1 billion and respectively became one of the highest-grossing films of 2015 and 2017, but polarized critics. After Minions sequel Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) suffered two delays from an original 2020 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Despicable Me 4 is scheduled for release in 2024. The Rise of Gru earned critical praise than Minions and became one of the highest-grossing films of 2022.