This is a list of productions produced by Illumination (formerly known as Illumination Entertainment), an American film and animation studio based in Santa Monica, California, United States. This includes feature films, television specials, shorts, and digital series. As of, Illumination has released 15 feature films, which were all distributed by Universal Pictures, with their first being Despicable Me on July 9, 2010, and their latest being Despicable Me 4 on July 3, 2024.
Their upcoming slate of films includes an untitled follow-up film to The Super Mario Bros. Movie on April 3, 2026, and Minions 3 on June 30, 2027.
All films are co-produced and distributed by Universal Pictures, with the exceptions of Hop (co-produced with Relativity Media) and The Super Mario Bros. Movie (co-produced with Nintendo).
| Film | Release date | Director(s) | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Composer(s) | Animation service(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Despicable Me | Chris Renaud Pierre Coffin | Chris Meledandri Janet Healy John Cohen | Heitor Pereira (score) Pharrell Williams (songs and themes) | Mac Guff | ||
| Cinco Paul Ken Daurio (screenplay) | ||||||
| Hop | Tim Hill | Cinco Paul Ken Daurio (story) Cinco Paul Ken Daurio Brian Lynch (screenplay) | Chris Meledandri Michele Imperato Stabile | Christopher Lennertz | Rhythm & Hues | |
| The Lorax | Chris Renaud Co-director: Kyle Balda | Chris Meledandri Janet Healy | John Powell (score) John Powell Cinco Paul (songs) | Illumination Mac Guff Mac Guff[1] | ||
| Cinco Paul Ken Daurio (screenplay) | ||||||
| Despicable Me 2 | Chris Renaud Pierre Coffin | Cinco Paul Ken Daurio | Heitor Pereira (score) Pharrell Williams (songs and themes) | Illumination Mac Guff | ||
| Minions | Pierre Coffin Kyle Balda | Brian Lynch | Heitor Pereira | |||
| The Secret Life of Pets | Chris Renaud Co-director: Yarrow Cheney | Cinco Paul Ken Daurio Brian Lynch | Alexandre Desplat | |||
| Sing | Garth Jennings Co-director: Christophe Lourdelet | Garth Jennings | Joby Talbot | |||
| Despicable Me 3 | Pierre Coffin Kyle Balda Co-director: Eric Guillon | Cinco Paul Ken Daurio | Heitor Pereira (score) Pharrell Williams (songs and themes) | |||
| The Grinch | Scott Mosier Yarrow Cheney | Danny Elfman | ||||
| Michael LeSieur Tommy Swerdlow (screenplay) | ||||||
| The Secret Life of Pets 2 | Chris Renaud Co-director: Jonathan del Val | Brian Lynch | Alexandre Desplat | |||
| Sing 2 | Garth Jennings Co-director: Christophe Lourdelet | Garth Jennings | Joby Talbot | Illumination Studios Paris | ||
| Kyle Balda Co-directors: Brad Ableson Jonathan del Val | Brian Lynch Matthew Fogel (story) Matthew Fogel (screenplay) | Chris Meledandri Janet Healy Chris Renaud | Heitor Pereira | |||
| The Super Mario Bros. Movie | Aaron Horvath Michael Jelenic Co-directors: Pierre Leduc Fabien Polack | Chris Meledandri Shigeru Miyamoto | Brian Tyler (score) Koji Kondo (themes) | |||
| Matthew Fogel | ||||||
| Migration | Benjamin Renner Co-director: Guylo Homsy | Mike White Benjamin Renner (story) Mike White (screenplay) | Chris Meledandri | John Powell | ||
| Despicable Me 4 | Chris Renaud Co-director: Patrick Delage | Mike White Ken Daurio | Chris Meledandri Brett Hoffman | Heitor Pereira (score) Pharrell Williams (songs and themes) |
| Film | Release date | Director(s) | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Composer(s) | Animation service(s) | Production Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Horvath Michael Jelenic | Chris Meledandri Shigeru Miyamoto | Illumination Studios Paris | Pre-production | [2] | ||||
| Matthew Fogel | ||||||||
| Minions 3 | Pierre Coffin | Brian Lynch | Chris Meledandri Bill Ryan | [3] |
| Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Big Tree | [4] | |
| The Secret Life of Pets 3 | [5] [6] | |
| Sing 3 | ||
| Untitled Pharrell Williams film | [7] |
| Title | Release date | Distribution/co-production with | Animation service(s) | Released with | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Makeover | Universal Studios Home Entertainment | Mac Guff | Despicable Me | Home video release | |
| Orientation Day | |||||
| Banana | |||||
| Brad & Gary[8] [9] [10] | Universal Pictures | Theatrical release | |||
| Phil's Dance Party | Universal Studios Home Entertainment | Rhythm & Hues | Hop | Home video release | |
| Wagon Ho! | Universal Studios Home Entertainment Dr. Seuss Enterprises | Illumination Mac Guff | The Lorax | ||
| Forces of Nature | |||||
| Serenade | |||||
| Puppy | Universal Studios Home Entertainment | Despicable Me 2 | |||
| Panic in the Mailroom | |||||
| Training Wheels | |||||
| Cro Minion | Minions | ||||
| Competition | |||||
| Binky Nelson Unpacified | |||||
| Mower Minions | Universal Pictures | The Secret Life of Pets | Theatrical release/Home video release | ||
| Norman Television | Home video release | ||||
| Weenie | |||||
| Gunter Babysits | Sing | ||||
| Love at First Sight | |||||
| Eddie's Life Coach | |||||
| The Secret Life of Kyle | Despicable Me 3 | ||||
| Yellow is the New Black | Universal Pictures | The Grinch | Theatrical release/Home video release | ||
| The Dog Days of Winter | NBCUniversal Television Distribution Dr. Seuss Enterprises | Trolls Holiday | Television release | ||
| The Grinch | Home video release | ||||
| Santa's Little Helpers | Universal Pictures Home Entertainment | ||||
| Super Gidget | The Secret Life of Pets 2 | ||||
| Minion Scouts | |||||
| Minions & Monsters | Minions: The Rise of Gru | Television release/Home video release | |||
| For Gunter's Eyes Only | Universal Pictures Home Entertainment | Illumination Studios Paris | Sing 2 | Home video release | |
| Animal Attraction | |||||
| Post Modern Minion | Minions: The Rise of Gru | ||||
| Penglai | Universal Pictures | One and All Animation Studio | Limited theatrical release | ||
| Mooned | Illumination Studios Paris | Migration | Theatrical release/Home video release | ||
| Fly Hard | Universal Pictures Home Entertainment | Home video release[11] | |||
| Midnight Mission | |||||
| Benny's Birthday | Despicable Me 4 | ||||
| Game Over and Over |
| Title | Release date | Distribution/co-production with | Animation service(s) | Streaming service(s) | Shorts included |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minions & More 1 | Universal Pictures | Illumination Studios Paris | Puppy, The Dog Days of Winter, Minion Scouts, Norman Television, Training Wheels, Love at First Sight, The Secret Life of Kyle, Weenie, Forces of Nature, and Santa's Little Helpers | ||
| Minions & More 2 | Mower Minions, Super Gidget, Yellow is the New Black, Eddie's Life Coach, Competition, Serenade, Cro Minion, Wagon Ho | , Binky Nelson Unpacified, Panic in the Mailroom, and Gunter Babysits |
| width=160 | Title | width=120 | Premiere date | width=120 | End date | width=100 | Network(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday Morning Minions | Facebook | ||||||
| Who's Who? | TikTok YouTube | ||||||
| Bones Story | |||||||
See main article: List of unproduced Universal Pictures animated projects.
| Title | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Emily the Strange | Since 2000, Rob Reger has been trying to make a feature film adaptation of Emily. In 2005, Fox Animation went to make a live action/animated feature film,[12] with Chris Meledandri and John Cohen producing it.[13] Mike Richardson, of Dark Horse Entertainment, came on board as a producer in 2008.[14] The same year it was unofficially reported that the film moved to Universal Studios' owned Illumination Entertainment, along with the studio's founders, Meledandri and Cohen.[15] In September 2010, Universal Studios acquired the rights to the comic, and the actress Chloë Grace Moretz was cast in the role of Emily.[16] Melisa Wallack, who wrote the script for Mirror Mirror, was hired to write the adaptation in the following year in August.[17] Two months later it was confirmed that the film was indeed in the works at Illumination Entertainment.[18] Kealan O'Rourke was brought to rewrite the film's script.[19] By December 2016, Universal abandoned the project, and Dark Horse Entertainment and Amazon Studios were in negotiations to make an animated film.[20] | |
| Flanimals | An animated feature film based on the Flanimals book series was in production at Illumination by April 2009. Series creator Ricky Gervais was set to be the executive producer and also lend his voice to the lead character, while Matt Selman (The Simpsons) wrote the script,[21] but the project was later removed from the development schedule.[22] | |
| Where's Waldo? | In June 2009, Universal and Illumination acquired the rights to turn Where's Waldo? into a live-action film, was to be produced by Chris Meledandri with Classic Media's (now DreamWorks Classics) executive producer Eric Ellenbogen,[23] but the project was later cancelled, after DreamWorks Animation bought Classic Media in 2012.[24] | |
| Untitled cryptozoology film | In December 2009, Illumination was producing an animated film based on a pitch by actor-comedian Jack Black and Jason Micallef on cryptozoology, which is the study of legendary creatures whose existence has never been confirmed (i.e. the Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot). Black intended to produce the film alongside Ben Cooley and Chris Meledandri through his production company Electric Dynamite. Additionally, Black did not intend to provide a voice for the characters as he did with DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda.[25] | |
| Curious George | By July 2010, Illumination was developing a live-action animated film based on Curious George, with Larry Stuckey writing the script,[26] but in November 2015 the film project was cancelled.[27] | |
| Pluto | In October 2010, Illumination Entertainment and Tezuka Productions jointly announced to develop a live-action/animated film of the Japanese manga series Pluto.[28] | |
| The Addams Family | In 2010, Universal and Illumination acquired the underlying rights to the Addams Family drawings.[29] The film was planned to be a stop-motion animated film based on Charles Addams's original drawings. Tim Burton was set to co-write and co-produce the film, with a possibility to direct.[30] By July 2013, the film was cancelled; had been made, this would have been Illumination's first stop-motion animated film.[31] Eventually, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picked up rights to the film and an animated film was released in 2019, with Sausage Party directors Greg Tiernan and former DreamWorks Animation staff member Conrad Vernon to direct.[32] Universal handled the international distribution rights for the film, as well as physical home media worldwide distribution rights. | |
| UglyDolls | In May 2011, Illumination acquired the rights to Uglydolls to make an animated feature film,[33] but the project never came to fruition. An animated film based on Uglydolls became the first family and animation project produced by STXfilms[34] and was released in May 2019.[35] | |
| Woody Woodpecker | By November 2011, Universal and Illumination planned a Woody Woodpecker feature film. John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky (King of the Hill) were in talks to develop a story,[36] but in July 2013, Illumination canceled the project.[37] The film was eventually released as a live-action/CGI hybrid film in 2017. | |
| The Cat in the Hat | In March 2012, following the financial success of The Lorax, the animated film adaptation of the book of the same name, Universal and Illumination announced plans to produce an animated adaptation of the book The Cat in the Hat.[38] Rob Lieber was set to write the script, with Chris Meledandri as producer, and Audrey Geisel as the executive producer, but the project never came into fruition.[39] By January 2018, Warner Animation Group was in development of an animated Cat in the Hat film as part of a creative partnership with Seuss Enterprises, which is set to be released in 2026.[40] | |
| Clifford the Big Red Dog | In May 2012, Universal and Illumination began to develop a live-action/animated feature film based on the Clifford the Big Red Dog book series. Matt Lopez was hired to write the script, while Chris Meledandri and Deborah Forte were attached to produce the film.[41] In July 2013, Illumination dropped the project.[42] Paramount Pictures later acquired the rights to develop the film, which was eventually released on November 10, 2021, following a number of delays due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[43] [44] [45] | |
| Johnny Express | In 2015, Universal and Illumination planned to adapt the South Korean CGI animated short Johnny Express into a feature-length animated film.[46] [47] |
| Film | Budget | North America | Overseas gross (unadjusted) | Worldwide gross (unadjusted) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening | Gross (unadjusted) | ||||||
| Despicable Me | $69 million | $56.3 million | $251.6 million | $291.6 million | $543.2 million | [48] | |
| Hop | $63 million | $37.5 million | $108.5 million | $75.8 million | $184.4 million | [49] | |
| The Lorax | $70 million | $70.2 million | $214.4 million | $134.8 million | $349.2 million | [50] | |
| Despicable Me 2 | $76 million | $83.5 million | $368.1 million | $602.7 million | $970.8 million | [51] | |
| Minions | $74 million | $115.7 million | $336.0 million | $823.4 million | data-sort-value="$1159 million" | $1.159 billion | [52] |
| The Secret Life of Pets | $75 million | $104.4 million | $368.4 million | $525.9 million | $894.3 million | [53] | |
| Sing | $35.2 million | $270.4 million | $363.8 million | $634.2 million | [54] | ||
| Despicable Me 3 | $80 million | $72.4 million | $264.6 million | $770.2 million | data-sort-value="$1034 million" | $1.034 billion | [55] |
| The Grinch | $75 million | $67.6 million | $271.5 million | $255.4 million | $527.8 million | [56] | |
| The Secret Life of Pets 2 | $80 million | $46.7 million | $159.2 million | $287.2 million | $446.4 million | [57] | |
| Sing 2 | $85 million | $22.3 million | $162.8 million | $245.6 million | $408.4 million | [58] | |
| Minions: The Rise of Gru | $80–100 million | $107.0 million | $370.3 million | $570.4 million | $940.7 million | [59] [60] [61] | |
| The Super Mario Bros. Movie | $100 million | $146.4 million | $574.9 million | $788.4 million | data-sort-value="$1363 million" | $1.363 billion | [62] |
| Migration | $72 million | $12.5 million | $127.3 million | $171.4 million | $298.7 million | [63] [64] | |
| Despicable Me 4 | $100 million | $122.6 million | $340.4 million | $507.0 million | $847.4 million | [65] [66] | |
| Film | Critical | Public | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore | |
| Hop | [67] | 41 (23 reviews)[68] | [69] |
| The Lorax | [70] | 46 (30 reviews)[71] | |
| The Grinch | [72] | 51 (32 reviews)[73] | [74] |
| The Super Mario Bros. Movie | [75] | 46 (53 reviews)[76] | [77] |
| Migration | [78] | 56 (25 reviews)[79] | [80] |
__FORCETOC__