Minions is a film.
Illumination Entertainment . The studio 's highest-grossing films are Minions ( 2015 ) , which has grossed $ 1.159 billion worldwide ; Despicable Me 2 ( 2013 ) , which has grossed $ 970.8 million worldwide ; and The Secret Life of Pets ( 2016 ) , which grossed $ 875.5 million worldwide . Minions is a 2015 American computer-animated comedy film , serving as a spin-off/prequel to the Despicable Me franchise . Produced by Illumination Entertainment for Universal Pictures , it was directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda , written by Brian Lynch , and produced by Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy .