This is a list of theatrical animated feature films released by Universal Pictures, the film division of Comcast's NBCUniversal.
Universal Pictures releases films from Universal-owned and non-Universal owned animation studios. Most films listed below are from Illumination which began as the feature animation department of Universal, producing its first feature-length animated film Despicable Me in 2010. Beginning with How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World in 2019, Universal also released animated films by DreamWorks Animation, which was acquired by NBCUniversal in 2016.[1][2][3] Other studio units have also released films theatrically, including Universal Animation Studios, which now focuses mainly on animating television shows and direct-to-video films.
The studio's distribution unit acquires film rights from outside animation studios to release films under the Universal Pictures or Focus Features film labels. For example, Laika's stop-motion animated features were released by Universal through its Focus Features label. Other studios globally have released films through Universal Pictures which maintains distribution rights in certain territories.
Amblin Entertainment (1986–present) Amblimation (1991–95) |
|
Universal Animation Studios (2006–present) | |
Illumination (2010–present) | |
DreamWorks Animation (2019–present) | |
Other Universal studio | |
Third-party studio | |
Live-action/animation hybrid | S |
Distribution only | D |
An adult animated production. | A |
Title | Original theatrical release date[rls 4] | Animation studio | |
---|---|---|---|
Small Soldiers[A][S] | July 10, 1998[st 3] | DreamWorks Pictures and Amblin Entertainment | |
The Abrafaxe – Under The Black Flag[D] | October 25, 2001 (German)[st 3] | Abrafaxe Trickfilm | |
Momo[D] | December 21, 2001 (Italy)[st 3] | Taurus Produktion | |
Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey! | July 10, 2009 (Denmark)[rls 5] | Universal Animation Studios and Imagine Entertainment | |
Nikté[D] | December 18, 2009 (Mexico)[st 3] | Animex Producciones | |
Underdogs[D] | July 18, 2013 (Argentina)[st 3] | Prana Studios and 100 Bares Producciones | |
Moshi Monsters: The Movie[D] | December 20, 2013[st 3] | Spider Eye Productions | |
Song of the Sea[D] | September 6, 2014 (Ireland)[st 3] | StudioCanal and Cartoon Saloon | |
The Seventh Dwarf[D] | September 25, 2014 (Germany)[st 3] | Zipfelmützen Film GmbH & Co. KG | |
Yellowbird[D] | October 11, 2014[st 3] | TeamTO | |
Ethel & Ernest[D] | October 28, 2016[st 3] | Cloth Cat Animation | |
The Breadwinner[D] | September 8, 2017 (Canada)[st 3] | Elevation Pictures, StudioCanal, and Cartoon Saloon | |
Woody Woodpecker[S] | October 5, 2017 (Brazil)[rls 5] | Universal Animation Studios and Cinemotion | |
The Addams Family[D] | October 11, 2019[st 3] | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Cinesite[st 4] | |
The Addams Family 2[D] | October 1, 2021[st 3][35][36] | ||
Mavka: The Forest Song[D] | March 29, 2023 (France)[st 3][37] | Animagrad Animation Studio and Film.UA |
Title | Intended theatrical release date by Universal Pictures |
Animation studio | |
---|---|---|---|
Despicable Me 4 | July 3, 2024[33] | Illumination | |
The Wild Robot | September 20, 2024[38][39] | DreamWorks Animation | |
Piece by Piece[D] | October 11, 2024[40] | The Lego Group, Tremolo Productions, and I Am Other[st 1] | |
Dog Man | January 31, 2025[38][41] | DreamWorks Animation | |
The Bad Guys 2 | August 1, 2025[38][42] | ||
Untitled DreamWorks Animation film | September 26, 2025[38] | ||
Untitled Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel | April 3, 2026[43][44] | Illumination and Nintendo | |
LarryBoy | 2026[45][46] | Big Idea Entertainment | |
Untitled Lego Movie film[S] | TBA[47] | The Lego Group |
This list does not include films combining live-action with animation.
Rank | Film | Worldwide gross | Studio | Year | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Super Mario Bros. Movie | $1,363,298,473 | Illumination and Nintendo | 2023 | [48] |
2 | Minions | $1,159,398,397 | Illumination | 2015 | [49] |
3 | Despicable Me 3 | $1,034,799,409 | 2017 | [50] | |
4 | Despicable Me 2 | $970,761,885 | 2013 | [51] | |
5 | Minions: The Rise of Gru | $939,628,210 | 2022 | [52] | |
6 | The Secret Life of Pets | $875,457,937 | 2016 | [53] | |
7 | Sing | $634,151,679 | [54] | ||
8 | Despicable Me | $543,113,985 | 2010 | [55] | |
9 | The Grinch | $526,760,632 | 2018 | [56] | |
10 | How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World | $524,580,592 | DreamWorks Animation | 2019 | [57] |
Release Notes
Studio/Production Notes
Rights Notes
Culton, who made her directorial debut with Sony's Open Season, is currently writing and directing a film about a young girl and a Yeti for DWA with the working title Everest.