July 4th box office preview: The battle of animated movies?

Let's face it: July 4th is a holiday for getting outside. Most of us are perfectly content skipping the movie theater in favor of watching fireworks, stuffing our faces with excellent burgers and enjoying a cold beverage while floating in a pool/lake/river somewhere. However, once the family departs and the fireworks show is over, some of us do like to go see movies.

Historically, the July 4th box office weekend is a big one. Over the years, some major movies have hit theaters over the four-day holiday, including Back to the Future (28 years ago!), Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Transformers and a slew of Will Smith movies (including a great Fourth of July-themed movie, Independence Day).

What does the 2013 July 4th box office look like? We're now right in the middle of the summer blockbuster season, and at this point, some of the biggest and most highly anticipated films of the year are already out, drawing millions of us to theaters to take in some great action flicks, comedies and yes, animated family films.

This week, two new major releases hit theaters: Despicable Me 2 and The Lone Ranger. I'll warn you now: The Lone Ranger, starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer, is getting absolutely dismal reviews from major critics. In contrast, things look really promising for Despicable Me 2, and the film is "certified fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes.

Sure, most of us disagree with critics from time to time, but it's really hard not to wonder when you see the whole lot of them trashing Gore Verbinski's The Lone Ranger. This looks like a box office disaster in the making, if you ask me. I predict The Lone Ranger will bomb, as much or worse than White House Down did last week.

I think the Fourth of July holiday box office race will be a solid one between the two animated sequels: newcomer Despicable Me 2 and Monsters University, which has already proven to have real staying power.

Are you planning on hitting up the theater to catch a movie or two over the holiday? If so, what will you see?


Photo courtesy of TotalFilm.com