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Kim Hollis: Do you expect Minions to be the most successful spinoff film for some time, or do you think something on the horizon can surpass it?

Ben Gruchow: I'm racking my brain and trying to think of another example where a spinoff out-grosses its parent film. I can think of a few that come close, but none that actually do it. But for two possibilities, I expect Minions to hold the spinoff gold medal for a long time, and those two possibilities are both subjective as far as whether or not you consider them spinoffs or sequels: Pixar's Finding Dory has most of the original cast returning, but it also switches the main character focus to a supporting character from the first film, which is characteristic of a spinoff. The other one is Star Wars: Rogue One, and its success depends partially on how big The Force Awakens turns out to be and how closely the studio's marketing department is able to tie the anthology film to its parent.

Edwin Davies: I'll agree with Ben and say that the most likely source for a spinoff of this magnitude will probably come from Disney. If the mooted Han Solo or Boba Fett films appear and the success of The Force Awakens increases anticipation for them, then they might have a shot. Or maybe if Disney decide to rush an Olaf spin-off into production, that might be able to capitalize on Frozen Fever, even if it isn't as sharp as it was a year or so ago. Apart from that, though, I'm not sure what could approach it.

Ryan Kyle: I believe that one of the Star Wars spin-offs can come close to reaching Minions mettle, although I don't think it will happen. Minions had a few years to be in the cultural zeitgeist and the iron was struck when the metal was hot. I don't feel as if there are any other characters percolating in the public currently as much as the Minions have been to achieve this level of success. If you consider Suicide Squad a spin-off, then I can see that possibly reaching this height. Otherwise, I think Universal has a solid lock on this achievement for many years to come.

Max Braden: Spinoffs themselves are a pretty small genre, especially for original properties (rather than comic book heroes like the Marvel universe). Other than Puss in Boots, the only one I could come up with is Evan Almighty. I know the hype is pretty strong for the Star Wars spinoffs, but that hype didn't really knock it out of the park for the 1997 anniversary releases of the first Star Wars trilogy. I think the Star Wars films will perform strongly at the box office, but I have trouble imagining that the spinoffs will be able to break $100 million openings. Other than animated and Star Wars projects already in progress, I think a callback that might have a shot would be a Harry Potter spinoff. Maybe a solo-Rock spinoff from GI Joe or the Fast & Furious franchises? It's no wonder that the genre is small, because even when audiences applaud a side character, the idea of trying to sell a movie in that universe without the leading characters is pretty daunting.

Kim Hollis: Han Solo is such a popular character that I could see that movie being a stronger performer, provided that the casting is done well. I'd also honestly not considered the Harry Potter spinoff, Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them. That audience might be so starved for something from that universe that they could push it to a bigger start than Minions just had. Also worth considering is that much of this same audience will have grown up by the time Magical Beasts is released. They will be the key demographic - and they'll be paying full price.

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