Steve Carell in the context of "Despicable Me 3"

Bruce Almighty is a 2003 American fantasy comedy film starring Jim Carrey. The film follows Bruce Nolan, a down-on-his-luck television reporter who complains to God (played by Morgan Freeman) that he is not doing his job correctly and is offered the chance to try being God himself for one week. The film was directed by Tom Shadyac and written by Steve Koren, Mark O'Keefe and Steve Oedekerk. Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, Philip Baker Hall and Catherine Bell also star. The film is Shadyac and Carrey's third collaboration, after Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) and Liar Liar (1997).

When released in American theaters on May 23, 2003 by Universal Pictures, Bruce Almighty received mixed reviews from critics but was a box-office success and grossed $86.4 million in its opening weekend, a Memorial Day record at the time. The film surprised the industry's pundits when it beat The Matrix Reloaded the following weekend. It went on to gross $484 million worldwide, becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2003.

Despicable Me is a 2010 American animated comedy film directed by Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin and written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio from a story by Sergio Pablos. Produced by Illumination Entertainment as its debut film and distributed by Universal Pictures, it stars the voices of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Will Arnett, Danny McBride, Jack McBrayer, and Julie Andrews. The film follows Felonious Gru, a longtime supervillain who adopts three orphan girls to use as pawns in a villainous scheme but reluctantly develops an emotional attachment to them.

Development of Despicable Me began when Pablos pitched the idea about a main character having villainous attributes to producer Chris Meledandri following Illumination's foundation in 2007. The film was announced in 2008, with much of its creative team attached. Animation was provided by Paris-based studio Mac Guff. Pharrell Williams and Heitor Pereira composed the film's score, with original songs written and performed by the former.

Despicable Me 4 is a 2024 American animated comedy film directed by Chris Renaud and written by Mike White and Ken Daurio. Produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures, it is the sequel to Despicable Me 3 (2017) and the sixth film in the Despicable Me franchise. The film stars the voices of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Joey King, Miranda Cosgrove, Stephen Colbert, Sofía Vergara, and Will Ferrell. The film sees reformed supervillain and secret agent Gru temporarily relocate his family to a safe house when his old rival Maxime Le Mal seeks revenge. Subplots deal with Gru's family adjusting to their new lives, teenage neighbor Poppy Prescott trying to follow in Gru's footsteps, and a group of Gru's Minions becoming superheroes known as the Mega Minions.

Development on a fourth main Despicable Me film began in September 2017. It was officially confirmed in February 2022, with Renaud, Delage, and White attached as director, co-director, and writer, respectively. Production was underway by June 2022. Most of the main voice cast was announced in January 2024, with Hoffman and Daurio revealed as co-producer and co-writer, respectively. Heitor Pereira and Pharrell Williams returned from previous installments to compose the score and write original songs and themes, respectively.