Studio estimates on Friday show Despicable Me 2 is trampling the Johnny Depp Western at the holiday box office. The animated Universal sequel has collected three times more than the Disney cowboy caper since both films debuted Wednesday.
Despicable Me 2 earned $59.5m so far, while The Lone Ranger took in $19.5m in ticket sales.
Moviegoers opted for the minions over the masked man by more than 2 to 1 on Independence Day. The family film dominated with $24.5m on Thursday, compared with Ranger's $9.86m.
Poor reviews for The Lone Ranger may have translated to sluggish ticket sales.
Chicago Sun-Times critic Richard Roeper called the $250m Western "slick trash".