Box Office: ‘The Grinch’ Shatters $500 Million Milestone

By Rebecca Rubin

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – The holidays may be over, but “The Grinch” is still riding high on Yuletide spirit. Illumination and Universal’s animated adventure, based on the classic Dr. Seuss tale, surpassed $500 million at the worldwide box office.

With Tuesday’s ticket sales, “” joins the company of “Despicable Me 2,” Despicable Me 3,” “Minions,” “The Secret Life of Pets,” and “Sing” as ’s sixth film to cross the half-billion mark. It also nabbed the distinction as the highest-grossing holiday movie ever, a record previously set by “Home Alone” with $476 million.

All that green is even sweeter considering the studio shelled out $75 million to produce “The Grinch.” Not to mention all the ancillary goodies — from IHOP’s neon green pancakes to Pez dispensers featuring the ogre-like character — that come from making a family-friendly film. “The Grinch” was ubiquitous.

“The Grinch” has generated $270 million in North America and $228 million internationally, making it 2018’s third-biggest animated film globally behind Disney’s “Incredibles 2” ($1.2 billion) and “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation” ($527 million).

Benedict Cumberbatch voices the green grouch who plots to ruin Christmas in the third Hollywood adaptation of the holiday fable. Following the beloved 1966 animated TV special narrated by Boris Karloff, Jim Carrey stepped into the furry suit for 2000’s feature film, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Carrey’s rendition ended its box office run with a mighty $345 million worldwide.

Illumination’s next feature to hit theaters is “The Secret Life of Pets 2.” Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, and Harrison Ford lend their voices to the sequel, which arrives this summer. The first film was a huge box office smash, raking in $875 million.