Illumination/Universal’s just-released CG-animated feature Despicable Me 4 is expected to set some new box-office records for the Fourth of July long weekend.

The latest installment of the 14-year-old comedy franchise hit the big screen in the US yesterday (July 3), taking in roughly US$27 million. And it’s on track to earn around US$120 million from its five-day opening, according to the latest projections from Deadline.

A strong performance will come as no surprise—Despicable Me franchise is the highest-grossing animated film franchise of all time, ahead of strong competitors such as Shrek (DreamWorks Animation) and Toy Story (Pixar). 

Two years ago, spinoff film Minions: Rise of Gru ignited the Independence Day weekend with a whopping US$123-million gross over the four-day weekend—beating out the previous record held by Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which earned US$115 million back in 2011.

The US Independence Day holiday has traditionally been one of top weekends to bet on family audiences, as evidenced by the kid-friendly skew of many past Fourth of July box-office winners. 

Back in 2004, moviegoers flocked to superhero sequel Spider-Man 2, which netted US$115 million for the full long weekend (Friday to Monday). And according to Box Office Mojo, other top-20 Fourth of July weekend performers in the kids, family and teen categories include sequels and spinoffs such as The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (US$83 million), Superman Returns (US$76 million), Finding Dory ($51 million) and Toy Story 3 ($43 million). Live-action adaptations of animated IPs have also fared well, with The Last Airbender making the top 10 with a US$51-million gross, and The Legend of Tarzan taking 12th spot with US$46 million.