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December 22, 2023 | Andy Shaughnessy, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Every year, my friends on social media have a discussion about Christmas movies. It starts with someone asking whether “Die Hard” qualifies as a Christmas movie. Then everyone speculates about which Christmas movies are the best or worst of all time.
Those are all subjective arguments. But which Christmas movies made the most money? I looked at the box office figures, courtesy of IMDB, and I was surprised to see that “Die Hard” was not one of the top five money-makers. (It was ranked 16th.) Neither was “Elf,” which is one of the best Christmas movies ever, in my humble opinion. There’s just no accounting for tastes.
So, without further ado, here are IMDB’s top five highest-grossing Christmas movies of all time.
No. 1
The protagonist in “The Grinch” gave back all the presents he stole, but this movie flew away with a sleigh full of box office cash. This 2018 movie made $526 million worldwide and $271 million domestically, making it the highest-grossing Christmas movie of all time. It is a good movie, too.
No. 2
“Home Alone” was a close second, bringing in $476 million worldwide and $285 million domestically. I still don’t understand how Kevin McCallister was smart enough to booby-trap his entire house and catch two burglars, but he didn’t notice that his whole family was packing for a European vacation. I always root for Joe Pesci.
No. 3
“Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” brought in $358 million worldwide and $173 million domestically, and marked Donald Trump’s first movie role. Once again, Kevin outsmarts the bad guys, but he somehow doesn’t know that streets in Manhattan run east and west, while avenues run north and south. But then there wouldn’t be a movie, right?
No. 4
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” earned $345 million worldwide and $260 million domestically, and it was the perfect venue for Jim Carrey to showcase his over-the-top acting skills. He’s so good in this role that he basically became the Grinch. If a movie requires overacting, Jim Carrey is your first call.
No. 5
“A Christmas Carol” is an animated version of the Dickens novel, and Scrooge would be pleased with the $325 million it earned worldwide, along with $137 million domestically.
With characters voiced by Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman, this movie was bound to do well. I read news stories about how this movie scared kids half to death. But in the end, it’s all about redemption.
I hope you all have a great holiday! January will be busy, so rest up for the next few weeks.
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