Netflixis the largest streaming platform in the world and is home to some of the most popular movies in the world. But one film stands above them all as the most-streamed movie of the year (so far). We’re seven months into 2025, and one film has dominated Netflix’s ratings, and it’s easy to understand how. Despite what you might think, it’s not one of the streamer’s original offerings, likeCarry-On,The Electric State, orGlass Onion: A Knives Out Movie. Instead, the film that audiences have been obsessed with is the fourth installment in a long-running animated franchise, which was released last year. The Nielsen Company has confirmed the film’s popularity with its most recent statistics. The movie in question already had a dominating run at the box office, and now it’s taking over streaming as well.
Released in theaters in July 2024,Despicable Me 4is the movie that Netflix users just cannot get enough of. According to the Nielsen Company’s latest report on streaming viewership habits, Illumination’s animated sequel raked in a gigantic number of minutes watched. Over the past six and a half months,Despicable Me 4has been watched for a shocking 6.274 billion minutes. It’s easy to understand why the film has been so popular. It features a star-studded voice cast, including Steve Carrel as Gru, not to mention thepop culture icons that are the Minions.The film also has the reputation of the first three films in the franchise behind it. Finally, and most importantly, it’s targeted towards children, with many parents likely putting the film on repeatedly to appease their Minions-obsessed kids.
One of the Best Animated Trilogies of All-Time Leaves Netflix Very Soon
Stream the trilogy on Netflix before the new sequel is released.
Despicable Me 4’s streaming success is far from the only win the film can boast. When it opened in theaters last year, it accrued a worldwide total of almost $1 billion ($969 million, to be exact) at the box office.Despicable Me 4saw Gru, Lucy, Edith, Agnes, and Margo return once again, this time with a new member of the family, Gru Jr. But, whenthe evil villainess, Maxime Le Mal,escapes from prison and is hell-bent on getting revenge on Gru, he must do everything he can to protect his family (with the help of the Minions).
Is ‘Despicable Me 5’ In the Works?
Despicable Meis one of those franchises that fans are expecting to run forever. The first film debuted in 2010 and was a genuine critical and commercial hit. Since its release, each subsequent installment has gradually impressed critics at a declining rate.Despicable Me 4is the worst-reviewed filmin the franchise so far, sitting at a 56% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, audiences will apparently never tire of Gru or the Minions, as it boasts an 86% audience rating.
At the time of publication,Despicable Me 5hasn’t officially been announced yet. However, given the overwhelming financial success of the franchise so far, many are assuming that development has already begun on the sequel, and that it will be announced once a story has been finalized. Some fans are even speculating that we could seeDespicable Me 5as early as 2027, although this is just a rumor.
Despicable Me 4
Source:Nielsen Company (via Screen Rant)
