Author: Rebecca Rubin / Source: Variety
“The Grinch” proved it’s never too early for some holiday cheer as the animated family flick stole the weekend box office with $66 million from 4,141 locations.
Illumination and Universal’s adaptation of the Dr. Seuss holiday tale now ranks as the best start for a Christmas film.
Fellow new offerings “Overlord” and “The Girl In the Spider’s Web” weren’t as gleeful, with medoicre debuts of $10 million and $8 million, respectively.Benedict Cumberbatch voiced the animated green grouch in “The Grinch,” which cost the studio $75 million to make. While it trails the start of Illumination’s latest Dr. Seuss story “The Lorax” ($70 million), “The Grinch” should benefit from the holiday corridor. Overseas, it generated $12.7 million in 23 territories for a global start of $78.7 million.
Though critics gave “Grinch” a mediocre 55% rating on Rotten Tomatoes — with many noting the second big-screen adaptation didn’t add much to the original 1966 TV special — audiences, for the most part, embraced the movie and gave it an A- CinemaScore. Opening weekend crowds were 53% female and 29% under the age of 12.
Universal’s president of domestic distribution Jim Orr gave a nod to the film’s witty and snarky advertising campaign that played on the Grinch’s cynical humor for buoying opening numbers.
“Our marketing was eye-catching and unique,” Orr said. “It took full advantage of the character. It was purposeful because we knew we had a big property.”
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