The lead single, Turn Up the Sunshine by Diana Ross and Tame Impala, marked Ross’ highest debut on the Billboard charts since 1989. Since its release last month, the song has reached 3.3 million streams on Spotify.

It’s certainly not the first time a production studio has invested in high-profile musicians for its accompanying soundtrack. The Lion King (1994) won two Academy Awards for its music, which featured Elton John, Frozen (2013) won the Oscar for best original song for its lead single, Let It Go, performed by Idina Menzel in the film; and Pharrell Williams’ Happy, the lead single from Despicable Me 2 (2013), reached No.1.

These films also all grossed over one billion dollars at the worldwide box office.

The correlation between the success of films and their soundtracks could be explained by studies which have long shown the strong relationship between memory and music.

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“Compositions can contribute just as much to the story’s meaning, influencing our perception of film characters, the recalls of details of a film scene, and how we perceive friendly and aggressive behaviours,” one study published in the Psychology of Music Journal said.

While it’s not the first successful soundtrack within the Despicable Me universe, this Minions album has more in common with the Shrek franchise and its iconic sound.

Both mix new music trends with old songs, and introduce young audiences to the artists adored by their parents’ generation.The second instalment to the ogre franchise, Shrek 2 (2004), included a soundtrack of high-profile artists, including David Bowie, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and Tom Waits.

Accidentally in Love by Counting Crows was the soundtrack’s lead single, charting on Australia’s ARIA singles chart for 13 weeks. It peaked at number 11, and was later nominated for best original song at the 2005 Academy Awards.

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But the difference between the two soundtracks, and perhaps a nod to the diversification of mainstream music in the last 20 years, is that the Minions album features a broader range of artists of varying backgrounds and genres.

K-pop star Jackson Wang’s track on the album, Born to Be Alive, includes verses in both English and Mandarin. Other artists include Colombian-American singer Kali Uchis, Chinese pop star G.E.M., and rapper RZA.

Whether you like the music or not, Minions is working its hardest to capture the attention of audiences both young and old, and from countries across the globe – and with an artist list like this, it just may well be working.