The weekend box office brought a winner in “Despicable Me 3.” The minions took in $75 million– less than predicted or hoped for, but not bad. The franchise lives on!

Will Ferrell’s “The House” clicked in $9 mil, probably less when the hard numbers come in tomorrow. It’s a write off for everyone. Enough said, at this point.

On the indie side, everything’s coming up roses. Sony has a hit with Edgar Wright’s “Baby Driver.” They’ve already grossed $30 million in five days. Word of mouth is great. We thought Sony was waiting for “Spider Man” to save them, but Ansel Elgort did it first. When “Spider Man” opens on Friday, Sony will be sitting pretty.

Meanwhile, Nicole Kidman is rocking in Sofia Coppola’s “The Beguiled.” A very strong opening weekend in limited release should bring bigger receipts in weeks to come.

“The Big Sick” is booming– on just 71 screens– wait til it expands.

Even Roadside Attractions is doing ok with “Beatriz at Dinner”– over $4 million. For them, this is revelation!

If you haven’t seen these films– “Baby Driver,” “Beguiled,” “Big Sick,” “Beatriz”– the B movies!– get out there. They’re a nice surprise for summer!

Friday box office: “Despicable Me 3” had a $29 million Friday. That’s off from the previous installment, but pretty damn good anyway. You can’t beat a $75 or $80 million weekend for an animated film. Plus the reviews are solid, so number 4 is already on the drawing board. Those Minions are not going away!

Will Ferrell’s “The House” did $3.5 million last. The Warner Bros. comedy gone bad will have an $8 million weekend. It’s basically a write off. Every once in a while Ferrell has a real turkey. Really, really bad stinker. This is going in the books with “Casa de Mi Padre,” another one no one saw.

How bad could “The House” be? The 15 rating on Rotten Tomatoes says it all. Why is it called “The House”? I know it takes place in a house that’s been converted to a casino, but why isn’t the word Casino in the title? Right now it sounds like either a horror film or The Money Pit. Soon to be seen on a plane. Can’t wait.

EXCLUSIVE There are few things that are certain in life: birth, death, taxes, and sequels to hit movies.

As Sony prepares to launch “Spider Man: Homecoming” on July 7th to huge numbers, so begins the talk of the sequel.

At the premiere this week for “Homecoming” in Hollywood, director Jon Watts confirmed for me he will directing Part 2.

When does it start, I asked? “Tomorrow morning,” he replied. He said he didn’t know the exact direction Peter Parker would go in next time. But the “Homecoming” sequel will take place after “Avengers 4” and won’t be released until 2019– when Peter is 19 and his portrayer, Tom Holland, is 25.

When I caught up with Holland at the TCL aka Grauman’s Chinese Theater, his response to all this adulation was: “Livin’ the dream!”

Where in the world is Will Ferrell? I am a particular fan of Ferrell’s crazy spots on late night TV shows– Fallon, Kimmel, Colbert, Corden, Meyers et al. When the former “SNL” star turned movie star shows up, it’s always fun and madcap. And whenever Ferrell has a new movie, you know that’s where you will find him.

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But his new movie “The House” is evidently so wretched that Ferrell has eschewed all his regular nighttime spots. He’s appeared with co-star Amy Poehler on “Ellen” (which is like a living press release).Will and Amy also appeared on “Good Morning America.”

Last night he showed up on Andy Cohen’s “Watch What Happens Now?” which has a tiny viewership. Otherwise, Ferrell has been AWOL from promoting this film. He knows it’s a stinker. So why bother?

Indeed, this morning there are 11 negative reviews posted overnight on Rotten Tomatoes. There are two positive ones, so the film has  a 15. The two positive reviews come from Australia, and from a blog. All the main reviewers who’ve seen “The House” are quite critical.

“The House” faces tougher competition than usual this weekend. “Baby Driver” is the go-to movie, very hip and standing at a 98 rating. “The Big Sick” is the comedy choice for the weekend, already beloved. “Despicable Me 3” is the kids’ movie for the mall.

PS “Baby Driver,” which opened Wednesday, already has $10 million and great word of mouth. Sony/Columbia, waiting for “Spider Man” and July 7th, is having a summer turnaround.

Read Jill Brooke’s excellent story about HBO documentary chief Sheila Nevins here

Spider-Man is back. Think you’ve heard this story before? Five times, in fact, plus that darned Broadway musical. Don’t want to hear it again? You do, trust me.I

In “Homecoming,” Spidey aka Peter Parker has been taken over by Marvel. He wants be an Avenger, and Tony Stark aka Robert Downey Jr. Is more than willing to help.

Luckily Tony has a willing player in Tom Holland, 21 year old Brit phenom who’s both fresh faced and chiseled. Holland unlike Andrew Garfield seems like he wants to be there. He matches Tobey Maguire’s joie de vivre and gusto. He’s very accessible and fun to watch. An excellent choice and one who will wear well for more installments.

The rest of the cast is outstanding, too. Michael Keaton plays the Vulture, and there’s a great plot twist– right out of “Crazy Stupid Love.” The funny inside wink is that Keaton is really playing a variation of “Birdman,” his alter ego from the movie of that name which almost won him an Oscar. It’s a neat joke. Marisa Tomei is Peter’s Aunt May, although now she’s called May, there’s no reference to Uncle Ben (who lost his life in the original Spider Man story). Tomei is a young Aunt May, but then again Peter is supposedly just 15 in this movie.

Peter’s pals are well cast, too, including the notable presence of Abraham Attah, now 17, who made his movie debut in “Beasts of No Nation” two years ago. Attah came here from Ghana, grew about a foot, and stayed in the US. I remember when we first met him at a “Beasts” screening he was in awe of New York and the US. His whole life has changed. He has a lovely serene presence on screen. I hope he has a wonderful career and life in the US.

We can’t leave out singer Zendaya, who plays “MJ” and is not yet Peter’s love match. That may develop in future chapters. Right now he’s hung up on Liz (very engaging Laura Harrier) and his antagonistic buddy is Flash (Tony Revolori). Jon Favreau returns as Happy Hogan from the “Iron Man” movies, as does Gwyneth Paltrow (just a cameo).

Jon Watts did a great job with “Homecoming,” so he’ll move up on the Marvel food chain. (He’s already working on the sequel.) Amy Pascal, who was ousted from Sony, gets the last laugh as she returns as producer with the studio’s first real hit in three years.

That’s it for right now. We now have a ton of positive reviews for “Homecoming,” releasing on July 7th. Meanwhile we have no reviews for “The House” opening tomorrow with Will Ferrell. Hmmmm…