How many Minions movies are there?

The adorable Minions characters exploded in popularity after their initial appearance in Despicable Me, perhaps eclipsing the main character Gru in recent years. For fans of the goggle-toting pill-shaped yellow henchmen, it can be hard to keep track of all Minions movies in the franchise. So how many Minions movies are there and where can you watch them? Here’s what you need to know.

How many Minions movies are there?

In total, Minions appear as main characters in five feature-length movies. Two of these are titular Minions movies, while the other three are in the Despicable Me franchise. Here is the full list of all five, plus their release dates:

• Despicable Me (2010)
• Despicable Me 2 (2013)
• Minions (2015)
• Despicable Me 3 (2017)
• Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)

There is a fourth Despicable Me movie slated for release in July 2024, and it’s guaranteed to have the Minions in it.

Where else do Minions appear?

In addition to movies, Minions appear in numerous animated shorts and children’s books. They’re also the official mascots for Illumination and serve as unofficial mascots for Comcast since it purchased Illumination’s parent company NBCUniversal in 2013. As such, they appear in a lot of merchandise and advertising for the companies.

Minions also have cameos in a wide variety of movies and TV shows, from The Simpsons and Family Guy to 2018’s Mortal Engines. They also have had two mobile games, Minions Paradise and Minion Rush: Running Game, although only the later is still available to download.

How to watch the Minions movies in order

The best order to watch Minions movies is different than the release order. In fact, their eponymous 2015 movie takes place more than 40 years before the first Despicable Me movie, and the follow-up Minions: The Rise of Gru takes place just a few years after that. With that in mind, here is how to watch the Minions movies in order:

• Minions (2015)
• Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)
• Despicable Me (2010)
• Despicable Me 2 (2013)
• Despicable Me 3 (2017)

It’s not year clear where Despicable Me 4 will slot into the order, but odds are it will take place after its predecessor at the end of the list.

Where to watch Minions movies

Since Comcast purchased NBCUniversal in 2013, it has become a bit complicated to know where to stream Minions movies online. NBCUniversal has its own streaming service in Peacock, but the movies are spread around different services like Hulu and Netflix, too. Here’s where to watch all Minions movies and Despicable Me movies as of mid-2023:

• Despicable Me: Peacock, Hulu
• Despicable Me 2: Peacock, Hulu
• Minions: DirectTV
• Despicable Me 3: Rental only
• Minions: The Rise of Gru: Netflix

These are just the places you can stream them with a subscription, of course. You can also rent them on a wide variety of platforms online.

Other FAQs