Even Shrek couldn't resist the overwhelming cuteness of Minions and settled for a later date then originally planned.  On Friday, January 10, Universal Pictures announced that the highly anticipated animated movies had swapped their release dates. Dreamworks Animation’s has been pushed back from July 1, 2026, to Wednesday, December 23. Illumination’s moved its theatrical release date from June 30, 2027, to the summer of 2026. In addition to and , Universal has also shifted the release of an untitled Illumination event film from March 19, 2027, to June. Though the December 2026 release is a long wait, the reward will be much more exciting as will arrive just in time for the franchise’s 25th anniversary. In addition to the silver jubilee milestone, the release will mark the grand return of original stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz, who will voice Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona. Beginning with 2001’s , which won the first Oscar for best-animated feature, the four films have earned more than $2.9 billion worldwide. Meanwhile, follows the massive success of , which opened to $230 million worldwide over the July 4 weekend.  The franchise continues to dominate Independence Day weekend at the box office.