Illumination and Universal's "Minions: The Rise of Gru" crushed the box office Independence Day record, earning $125.1 million over the long weekend.

According to IMDB "Minions: The Rise of Gru," grossed 218.9 million worldwide.

While the success of the movie is unquestionable, it was built on the foundations of a multimillion-dollar global marketing campaign which was fueled by the kid's brand that has generated over $6 billion in retail sales.

Universal also brought together a group of advertisers who delivered the biggest media value ever for an Illumination Despicable Me/Minions movie at $285M+, according to Deadline.

These partners included CarMax, Zip Recruiter, Liberty Mutual, IHOP restaurants, HelloFresh, Hippeas, Supergoop!, Olipop, McDonald's, Levi's and more.

The first trailer for "Minions: The Rise of Gru" first dropped back in February 2020 and was supposed to come out in July of that year, but like so many projects, the COVID-19 Pandemic brought the project to a wheezing stop. Universal and Illumination were forced to postpone the film when their studio in Paris closed that March.

"This means we will be unable to finish Minions: The Rise of Gru in time for our planned global releases in late June and early July. While we all grapple with the enormity of this crisis, we must put the safety and protection of our employees above all." Chris Meledandri, CEO of Illumination, said in a statement at the time.

Despite the two-year postponement, "Minions: The Rise of Gru" seems to have delivered for the studios and fans, with the movie earning a 91% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

You can catch "Minions: The Rise of Gru" in theaters now.