Los Angeles, Jul 4 (IANS): Animated comedy film 'Minions: The Rise of Gru' is set to emerge as the highest film opening in the US over the July 4 Independence Day weekend.

The film has minted $108 million over the weekend thereby setting the box office on fire. It is expected to collect a sizable $127.9 million by Monday evening, reports Variety.

Based on box office estimates, Variety reports that Minions: The Rise of Gru will smash the record for the highest film opening over US Independence Day, overtaking Paramount's 2011 blockbuster 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' ($115.9 million over four days).

After Disney's Pixar film Lightyear fell short of expectations, Hollywood had been looking at Minions: The Rise of Gru to test the viability of animated flicks on the big screen.

Variety states that Rise of Gru almost matched its predecessor, 2015's Minions ($115 million over three days), in terms of opening weekend returns.

Overall, July 4 ticket sales are another encouraging sign that movie going is slowly but surely rebounding from COVID-19.

In 2021, overall revenues around Independence Day added up to $69 million as 20 per cent of the cinemas were closed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Historically, the holiday that celebrates all things American can bring in between $150 million and $200 million at the box office, according to Comscore. This year, ticket sales are expected to touch between $190 million and $200 million from Friday and Sunday and look to hit $250 million by Monday.