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.
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] | ||
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On[D][S] | February 17, 2023 (United Kingdom)[37] | Cinereach, You Want I Should, Human Woman, Sunbeam Television & Films, and Chiodo Bros. Productions[st 1] | |
Mavka: The Forest Song[D] | March 29, 2023 (France)[st 3][38] | 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 27, 2024[39][40][41] | DreamWorks Animation | |
Piece by Piece[D] | October 11, 2024[42] | The Lego Group, Tremolo Productions, and I Am Other[st 1] | |
Dog Man | January 31, 2025[39][43] | DreamWorks Animation | |
The Bad Guys 2 | August 1, 2025[39][44] | ||
Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie[S] | September 26, 2025[39][45] | ||
Untitled Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel | April 3, 2026[46][47] | Illumination and Nintendo | |
LarryBoy | 2026[48][49] | Big Idea Entertainment and Kingstone Studios | |
Untitled Lego Movie film[S] | TBA[50] | Universal Animation Studios, Lego System A/S, Rideback, Lord Miller Productions, Vertigo Entertainment, and Animal Logic |
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 | [51] |
2 | Minions | $1,159,398,397 | Illumination | 2015 | [52] |
3 | Despicable Me 3 | $1,034,799,409 | 2017 | [53] | |
4 | Despicable Me 2 | $970,761,885 | 2013 | [54] | |
5 | Minions: The Rise of Gru | $939,628,210 | 2022 | [55] | |
6 | The Secret Life of Pets | $875,457,937 | 2016 | [56] | |
7 | Sing | $634,151,679 | [57] | ||
8 | Despicable Me | $543,113,985 | 2010 | [58] | |
9 | The Grinch | $526,760,632 | 2018 | [59] | |
10 | How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World | $524,580,592 | DreamWorks Animation | 2019 | [60] |
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.