Shrek 5 Is A Christmas Movie Now As Universal Moves Minions 3 Up

Posted in: Dreamworks, Illumination, Movies, Universal | Tagged: Minions 3, shrek 5

Shrek 5 is now a Christmas movie as Universal shifts its release date from July 2026 to December 2026. Minions 3 has moved up from June 2027 to July 2026.

Article Summary

Universal reshuffles animated releases: Shrek 5 shifts to December 2026, becoming a Christmas film.
Minions 3 jumps a year ahead, taking Shrek 5’s original summer slot for July 2026 release.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish found great success with its December release date.
Illumination’s untitled film moves to June 2027, securing a summer spot.

Universal is making some changes when it comes to animated movies today. For an entire generation of people, Shrek was kind of a defining movie moment for them. It was people who were raised on Disney films seeing someone making fun of the movies they grew up on for the first time. The film also exploded and became a cultural touchstone. The second film was about as good as the first, but the third and fourth did not keep up the quality, and the series hasn’t been around much since, aside from the fact that the spin-off Puss in Boots films were way better than they had any right to be. There were rumblings in 2016, but nothing solid came until last summer when Dreamworks finally confirmed that the film was happening. The film is set to be directed by Conrad Vernon and Walt Dohrn and co-directed by Brad Ableson from a screenplay written by Michael McCullers. Initially, Shrek 5 had a prime-time July release date, but according to Deadline, things are shifting around. Shrek 5 is a Christmas movie that will be released on December 23, 2026. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was also released right around this time in 2022 and did really well, so this release date makes sense.

That doesn’t mean they are leaving the door open on a prime-time release date like that. The box office take of Despicable Me 4 proves there is plenty of gas left in the tank for that franchise. Both Minions spin-off films have done extremely well, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Illumination is returning for round three. The film is moving up, though. It initially had a June 30, 2027 release date, but it’s moving up a year to Shrek 5’s old release date and will be released on July 1, 2026. Summer is prime time for animated films, so Illumination isn’t letting that June 30th spot open. An untitled film initially set for March 19, 2027, has been moved to June 30, 2027.