Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
A new movie called Minions & Monsters is playing in theaters this weekend. It is part of the Despicable Me movie series.
The movie could make about 80 million dollars over the July 4th weekend. It is showing in about 4,000 theaters.
Another movie, Toy Story 5, is also in theaters. Its ticket sales dropped a lot in its second week.
A third movie, Young Washington, is about George Washington. It comes out at the same time as America's 250th birthday.
- movie
- a story shown on a screen with moving pictures
- theater
- a building where people go to watch movies
- series
- a group of related movies or shows made one after another
- million
- a very large number equal to one thousand thousand
- ticket sales
- the money made from selling tickets to see a movie
- drop
- to become smaller or lower in amount
- weekend
- Saturday and Sunday, the last days of the week
- birthday
- the day that celebrates when something or someone was born or started
Level 2 — Elementary
Illumination's new film Minions & Monsters, the seventh movie in the Despicable Me franchise, is leading the box office over the July 4th holiday weekend.
The film is aiming for around 80 million dollars from about 4,000 theaters across North America during the five-day holiday frame, though estimates range from 60 to 90 million dollars.
It faces strong competition from Toy Story 5 in its second weekend. That film suffered the biggest second-weekend drop of any movie in the Pixar franchise's history.
Angel Studios also released Young Washington, a film about George Washington's early life, timed to coincide with celebrations of America's 250th anniversary. It is expected to earn between 15 and 20 million dollars.
- franchise
- a series of related movies, games, or products based on the same characters or story
- box office
- the total amount of money a movie earns from ticket sales
- estimate
- an approximate calculation or guess
- competition
- a situation in which people or things compete against each other
- coincide
- to happen at the same time as something else
- release
- to make a movie, product, or piece of media available to the public
- frame
- here, a specific period of time set aside for a movie's box office run
- expect
- to believe something will happen based on available information
Level 3 — Intermediate
Illumination and Universal's Minions & Monsters, the seventh installment in the Despicable Me franchise, is projected to lead the domestic box office over the five-day July 4th holiday frame, targeting roughly 80 million dollars from approximately 4,000 North American theaters.
Industry estimates for the film's opening range from 60 to 90 million dollars, reflecting uncertainty among exhibitors and rival studios about how holiday moviegoing patterns will play out this year.
The film's chief competition comes from Toy Story 5 in its second weekend, which recorded the steepest sophomore-weekend decline of any entry in the Pixar franchise's history, alongside Angel Studios' Young Washington, an origin story centered on George Washington that debuts alongside nationwide America 250 celebrations.
Analysts caution that this year's holiday box office is unusually difficult to forecast, since July 4th falls on a Saturday, competes with America 250 events and World Cup matches, and coincides with a record-breaking heat dome that could keep some moviegoers away from theaters altogether.
- installment
- one part in a series of related works, such as films or books
- domestic box office
- movie ticket revenue earned within a single country, usually the one where a film is based
- exhibitor
- a company or person that operates movie theaters and shows films to the public
- sophomore
- here, describing a film's second weekend in theaters
- origin story
- a narrative that explains how a character or figure became who they are
- analyst
- a person who studies data and trends to make informed predictions
- forecast
- to predict what will happen in the future based on current information
- moviegoer
- a person who regularly goes to watch films in theaters
Level 4 — Advanced
Illumination and Universal's Minions & Monsters, the seventh installment in the Despicable Me franchise, is projected to top the domestic box office across the five-day July 4th holiday frame, with the studio targeting roughly 80 million dollars from approximately 4,000 North American theaters.
Estimates for the opening span a comparatively wide range, from 60 to 90 million dollars, underscoring the difficulty exhibitors and competing studios face in forecasting holiday attendance amid an unusually volatile moviegoing landscape this year.
The film's principal rivals include Toy Story 5, now in its second weekend after recording the steepest sophomore-weekend decline in the Pixar franchise's history, and Angel Studios' Young Washington, an origin narrative centered on George Washington timed deliberately to coincide with nationwide America 250 anniversary programming.
Analysts note that this year's holiday frame is exceptionally hard to model, given that July 4th falls on a Saturday, competes for public attention against both America 250 festivities and World Cup fixtures, and unfolds under a record-breaking heat dome that may suppress theatrical foot traffic across major metropolitan markets.
- top
- here, to achieve the highest ranking or earnings in a given period
- span
- to extend across a range or distance
- volatile
- likely to change quickly and unpredictably
- principal
- most important or primary
- narrative
- a spoken or written account of connected events; a story
- programming
- here, a scheduled series of events or broadcasts organized around a theme
- model
- here, to predict or represent something using data and assumptions
- suppress
- to reduce or hold back the strength or occurrence of something
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