Ah, Christmas. It’s the time when families get together or reunite with each other, but we all agree on one thing: movies have their place somewhere. Some start diving into the why of movie season the day after Halloween, others on Thanksgiving, and still others as soon as the calendar turns to December. Yet, just as surely as Rudolph’s nose is red, we all find ourselves in front of a warmly glowing, goofy-smiling screen into which we stuff festive snacks and gorge ourselves on Christmas. movies.
While Hollywood continues to offer audiences holiday movies, not all of them make the top box office list, or some are streaming exclusives. Unfortunately, there’s no room for potlucks for Netflix’s highly Klaus, Krampus, Bad. Santa Claus. Violent Night, Jingle All the Way or Scrooged. Even The Nightmare Before Christmas, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and The Muppet Christmas Carol failed to make the top ten.
Anyway, here’s the list of the top ten highest-grossing Christmas videos of all time. No, before you ask, we don’t come with Die Hard. Yes, it’s a Christmas movie, but I don’t set the rules.
At number ten, we have Santa Claus. Released in theaters in 1994, it grossed $190. 5 million internationally and $145. 5 million domestically. Tim Allen’s comedy spawned a lucrative film franchise and television show. Additionally, Santa Claus reunited Allen with his former Home Improvement director. John Pasquin. Now a holiday favorite and something of a calling card for Allen, along with the Toy Story films, he wasn’t the first choice for the Role. Bill Murray and Chevy Chase were reportedly approached for the role, but both turned it down.
The 2006 holiday ranked number nine. It was not a domestic success, grossing only $63. 2 million domestically, but it grossed $205. 8 million at the international box office against a budget of $85 million. The house swap romantic comedy starring Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Jack Black. has a crop since its release, but reviews were lukewarm when it was released. Directed by Nancy Meyers, who also directed The Parent Trap, Father of the Bride and The Intern, she also asked her friend: the legendary actor Dustin Hoffman, to make an uncredited appearance on the video rental department store scene. , which features a nod to his film, The Graduate.
Eighth position goes to Elf. This 2003 seasonal comedy grossed $227. 3 million worldwide and $178 million at the domestic box office and is hailed as a popular vintage. In one of his most iconic roles, Will Ferrell plays Buddy Hobbs, an eccentric human raised by Santa’s Christmas elves, who travels to New York to meet his biological father, played by James Caan. The cast also includes Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Ed Asner, Bob Newhart, Faizon Love and Peter Dinklage. Written a decade earlier, Chris Farley and Jim Carrey were originally candidates to play Buddy, but SNL alum Ferrell ultimately won the role. And that old Elf scene where Buddy yells “Santa! » was completely improvised.
Released the same year as Elf, Love Actually ranks seventh in the top ten with an international gross of $248 million. Of that, only $59. 6 million was collected in national theaters. Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley, Andrew Lincoln, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Martine McCutcheon, Bill Nighy and Rowan Atkinson, to name a few, play key roles in those ten love stories. . In addition to being a wonderful romantic comedy-drama, Love Actually is also notable for having an early appearance by Gavin and Stacey’s Joanna Page.
In sixth place is director Robert Zemekis’ animated Christmas fantasy adventure, The Polar Express. The director’s groundbreaking 2004 film, Here, uses actors to paint multiple human characters, live-action and motion capture effects. Set on Christmas Eve, it tells the story of a young boy who sees a mysterious North Pole-bound exercise block his window, and is invited on board through his driver, played by Tom Hanks, who also plays the boy’s father. , the conductor, a tramp, Santa Claus and more. Yes, it’s scary and now it looks a bit dated, but the box office doesn’t lie and grossed $316. 8 million worldwide.
Another of the director’s motion capture films, Death Becomes Her, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Contact, Forrest Gump and Back to the Future, takes the number five spot. A Christmas Carol grossed $325. 2 million worldwide, of which $137. 8 million came from domestic audiences. I didn’t like it, but the public came here in gigantic numbers. Released in three-dimensional theaters in 2009, A Christmas Carol is the third Disney film to tell the ancient story after Mickey’s Christmas Carol in 1983 and A Muppet Christmas Carol in 1992. Just like Tom Hanks did in The Polar Express , Jim Carrey played several characters, adding Ebenezer Scrooge.
Jim Carrey makes his second and final appearance in the top ten thanks to Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Director Ron Howard’s Christmas fantasy, based on the Dr. Seuss character and 1957 story of the same name, celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2025. The film, which starred Carrey in the titular lead, was released just before Thanksgiving and spent four weeks at the top of the domestic box office despite critics giving it a poor reception. However, it grossed $345.8 million worldwide including $260.7 million in the US, and it has even found new life as the annual Grinchmas event at the Universal Studios theme parks in Hollywood and Orlando.
Now considered to be a classic and, by some, even better than the original film, 1992’s Home Alone 2: Lost in New York takes third place. At the time, critics gave it a negative response, and it didn’t pull in the crowds at the same level as the original. However, thanks to various reasons, including a Donald Trump cameo and the annual meme suggesting incorrectly that British media personality Piers Morgan plays the Central Park Pigeon Lady, this sequel’s popularity and pop culture influence grows year after year. The jape sees Macaulay Culkin reprise his role as Kevin McCallister as he fends off Wet/Sticky Bandits Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern in the Big Apple. Notable cast editions include the legendary Tim Curry as Plaza Hotel concierge, Mr. Hector. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York grossed $358.9 million worldwide.
With a foreign box office of $476. 6 million, of which $285. 7 million was spent in domestic theaters, the 1990s’ Home Alone is in a momentary place. It occupied the most sensible place until 2018, but we will communicate that soon. Home Alone was so popular with audiences that it remained in theaters long after the Christmas season and was the number one movie with audiences for 12 consecutive weeks, from its release on November 16, 1990 through the weekend of November 1 February 1991. Keep the change, you filthy animal.
The movie that dethroned Home Alone and took the top spot from Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch. Grossing $526. 7 million internationally and $271. 3 million domestically, the animated comedy featuring the voice of Benedict Cumberbatch as the iconic titular poop is not only the highest-grossing Christmas movie of all times, but also the highest-grossing film adaptation of Dr. Seuss. Coming from the same studio as the Minions and Despicable Me movies, Cumberbatch’s original plan was to use his herbal British accent. However, he didn’t like this and made American to fit in with the rest of the cast. Audiences enjoyed it and generously donated their money, which is why it topped the list of the ten highest-grossing Christmas movies of all time.
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