List of highest-grossing Christmas films

Last updated

The following is a page of the highest-grossing Christmas-themed films.

Contents

Highest-grossing Christmas films

† Background shading indicates films playing in the week commencing 29 November 2024 in theaters around the world.
RankTitleGrossYearRef
1 The Grinch $538,920,6022018 [1]
2 Home Alone $476,684,6751990 [2]
3 Alvin And The Chipmunks $365,352,5462007 [3]
4 Home Alone 2: Lost in New York $358,994,8501992 [4]
5 Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! $345,823,0322000 [5]
6 A Christmas Carol $325,286,6462009 [6]
7 The Polar Express $315,249,7682004 [7]
8 Batman Returns $266,831,6981992 [8]
9 Love Actually $245,203,1672003 [9]
10 Die Hard 2 $240,031,2741990 [10]
11 Elf $225,097,4372003 [11]
12 The Holiday $205,850,1342006 [12]
13 The Santa Clause $190,539,3571994 [13]
14 While You Were Sleeping $182,057,0161995 [14]
15 Daddy's Home 2 $180,613,8242017 [15]
16 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms $173,961,0692018 [16]
17 The Santa Clause 2 $172,855,0652002 [17]
18 Four Christmases $163,733,6972008 [18]
19 Gremlins $153,898,8901984 [19]
20 Arthur Christmas $147,419,4722011 [20]
21 Die Hard $141,603,1971988 [21]
22 A Bad Moms Christmas $130,560,4282017 [22]
23 Jingle All the Way $129,832,3891996 [23]
24 The Family Man $124,745,0832000 [24]
25 Last Christmas $121,550,7502019 [25]
26 Why Him? $118,102,7252016 [26]
27 Office Christmas Party $114,501,2992016 [27]
28 The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause $110,768,1222006 [28]
29 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past $102,366,8152009 [29]
30 Fred Claus $97,838,3492007 [30]
31 Christmas with the Kranks $96,593,0182004 [31]
32 The Nightmare Before Christmas †$95,514,1881993 [32]
33 The Family Stone $92,884,4292005 [33]
34 Serendipity $77,516,3042001 [34]
35 Violent Night $76,492,4422022 [35]
36 Bad Santa $76,488,8892003 [36]
37 The Best Man Holiday $72,835,7102013 [37]
38 National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation $71,319,5261989 [38]
39 The Star $62,812,9742017 [39]
40 Krampus $61,548,7072015 [40]
41 Scrooged $60,328,5581988 [41]
42 A Madea Christmas $53,396,3542015 [42]
43 Just Friends $50,912,4342005 [43]
44 This Christmas $49,778,5522007 [44]
45 Deck the Halls $47,231,0702006 [45]
46 Miracle on 34th Street $46,264,3841994 [46]
47 Almost Christmas $42,580,9202016 [47]
48 Love the Coopers $42,426,9122016 [48]
49 The Holdovers $38,283,9882023 [49]
50 A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas $36,192,7752011 [50]

Highest grossing Christmas film franchises

The following is a list of highest grossing Christmas film series and franchises. Home Alone tops the list with $914.8 million and also has the best average with $304.9 million.

Highest-grossing Christmas franchises and film series [§] -
RankSeriesTotal worldwide box officeNo. of filmsAverage of filmsHighest-grossing film

Biggest worldwide openings for Christmas films

This list charts the largest opens for Christmas films worldwide. Since Christmas films do not open on Fridays in many markets, the 'opening' is taken to be the gross between the first day of release and the first Sunday.

Figures are given in United States dollars (USD).

This list does not take into account country-by-country variations in release dates. Therefore, in some cases opening weekend grosses from many, or even most countries may not be included.

RankFilmWorldwide openingYearRef [51]
1 How the Grinch Stole Christmas $55,082,3302000 [52]
2 Elf $31,113,5012003 [53]
3 The Grinch $67,752,8552018 [1]
4 The Polar Express $24,341,8682004 [54]
5 Love Actually $45,569,0862003 [55]
6 Nativity! $2,443,4932009 [56]
7 The Santa Clause 2 $29,008,6962002 [57]
8 A Christmas Carol $30,051,0752009 [58]
9 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms $20,352,4912018 [16]
10 The Best Man Holiday $30,107,5552013 [59]
11 Arthur Christmas $15,442,5852011 [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Santa Clause</i> 1994 film directed by John Pasquin

The Santa Clause is a 1994 American Christmas fantasy comedy film directed by John Pasquin and written by Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick. The first installment in The Santa Clause franchise, it stars Tim Allen as Scott Calvin, an ordinary man who accidentally causes Santa Claus to fall from his roof to his supposed death on Christmas Eve. When he and his young son, Charlie, finish the late St. Nick's trip and deliveries, they go to the North Pole where Scott learns that he must become the new Santa and convince those he loves that he is indeed Santa Claus.

<i>Elf</i> (film) 2003 American Christmas comedy film

Elf is a 2003 American Christmas comedy film directed by Jon Favreau and written by David Berenbaum. It stars Will Ferrell as Buddy, a human raised by Santa's elves, who learns about his origins and heads to New York City to meet his biological father. James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Ed Asner and Bob Newhart appear in supporting roles.

<i>The Santa Clause 2</i> 2002 film directed by Michael Lembeck

The Santa Clause 2 is a 2002 American Christmas fantasy comedy film directed by Michael Lembeck in his directorial debut. It is the sequel to The Santa Clause (1994) and the second installment in The Santa Clause franchise. All of the principal actors from the first film, including Tim Allen, Eric Lloyd, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, and David Krumholtz, reprise their roles, and are joined by Elizabeth Mitchell, Spencer Breslin, and Liliana Mumy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grinch</span> Fictional character created by Dr. Seuss

The Grinch is a character created by children's author and cartoonist Dr. Seuss. He is best known as the main character of the 1957 children's book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! He has been portrayed and voiced by many actors, including Boris Karloff, Hans Conried, Bob Holt, Walter Matthau, Anthony Asbury, Jim Carrey, Rik Mayall, Benedict Cumberbatch, Matthew Morrison, David Howard Thornton, and James Austin Johnson.

<i>Santa Claus: The Movie</i> 1985 film by Jeannot Szwarc

Santa Claus: The Movie is a 1985 British-American Christmas film starring Dudley Moore, John Lithgow, and David Huddleston. It depicts the origin of Santa Claus, and his modern-day adventure to save one of his elves (Moore) who has been manipulated by an unscrupulous toy company executive (Lithgow). It was directed by Jeannot Szwarc and was the last major fantasy film produced by the Paris-based father-and-son production team of Alexander and Ilya Salkind.

<i>The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause</i> 2006 film directed by Michael Lembeck

The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause is a 2006 American Christmas comedy film directed by Michael Lembeck. It is the third installment in The Santa Clause franchise, following The Santa Clause (1994) and The Santa Clause 2 (2002). The film features Tim Allen returning as Scott Calvin, who must find a way to reverse a spell cast by Jack Frost that caused him to lose his title of Santa Claus. Allen and Short had previously worked together in the 1997 Disney comedy film, Jungle 2 Jungle. Most of the supporting actors from the first two films reprise their roles, with the exception of David Krumholtz. As a result of his absence, Curtis, who was previously the Assistant Head Elf, has now been promoted to Bernard's former position. This was Peter Boyle's final film to be released during his lifetime. Its production was completed in February 2006.

<i>The Polar Express</i> (film) 2004 film by Robert Zemeckis

The Polar Express is a 2004 American animated Christmas adventure film directed by Robert Zemeckis, who co-wrote the screenplay with William Broyles Jr., based on the 1985 children's book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg. It stars Tom Hanks, Daryl Sabara, Nona Gaye, Jimmy Bennett, and Eddie Deezen. The film depicts human characters using live action and motion capture computer animation, with production sequences for the latter taking place from June 2003 to May 2004. Set on Christmas Eve, it tells the story of a young boy who sees a mysterious train bound for the North Pole stop outside his window and is invited aboard by its conductor. He joins other children as they embark on a journey to visit Santa Claus, who is preparing for Christmas.

<i>How the Grinch Stole Christmas</i> (2000 film) 2000 Christmas film by Ron Howard

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a 2000 American Christmas fantasy comedy film directed by Ron Howard, who also produced with Brian Grazer, from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. Based on Dr. Seuss's 1957 children's book of the same name, this marked the first Dr. Seuss book to be adapted into a full-length feature film and one of only two live-action adaptations, the other being The Cat in the Hat (2003). It is the second adaptation of the book, following the 1966 animated TV special.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Claus in film</span>

Motion pictures featuring Santa Claus constitute their own subgenre of the Christmas film genre. Early films of Santa revolve around similar simple plots of Santa's Christmas Eve visit to children. In 1897, in a short film called Santa Claus Filling Stockings, Santa Claus is simply filling stockings from his pack of toys. Another film called Santa Claus and the Children was made in 1898. A year later, a film directed by George Albert Smith titled Santa Claus was created. In this picture, Santa Claus enters the room from the fireplace and proceeds to trim the tree. He then fills the stockings that were previously hung on the mantle by the children. After walking backward and surveying his work, he suddenly darts at the fireplace and disappears up the chimney.

<i>Fred Claus</i> 2007 American Christmas comedy film

Fred Claus is a 2007 American Christmas comedy film directed by David Dobkin, written by Dan Fogelman from a story by Fogelman and Jessie Nelson, and starring Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Miranda Richardson, John Michael Higgins, Elizabeth Banks, Rachel Weisz, Kathy Bates, Trevor Peacock, Ludacris, and Kevin Spacey. The film was first announced in October 2005 with Mike Mitchell attached to direct. The film was released in the United States on November 9, 2007 by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is loosely based on the poem "A legend of Santa and his brother Fred" written by Donald Henkel. It received negative reviews from critics and grossed $97 million worldwide against the production budget of $100 million.

All I Watch for Christmas and Christmas Maximus are two interrelated program blocks respectively carried on TBS and TNT, the two former flagship stations of the Turner Broadcasting System. Both channels are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery as of 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">25 Days of Christmas</span> An annual seasonal television event by Freeform

Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas is an American annual seasonal event of Christmas programming broadcast during the month of December by the U.S. cable network Freeform. The event was first held in 1996, and has been an annual fixture of the channel through its various incarnations, including The Family Channel, Fox Family, ABC Family, and Freeform. The brand covers airings of classic holiday specials as well as new Christmas-themed television movies each year; generally few of the network's original series air during the time period, outside of Christmas-themed episodes. In 2006, the lineup has also included airings of general, family films that Freeform holds rights to, which included the Harry Potter films until January 2017, and other Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures films. In 2007, the block was extended to November with a Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas block. 25 Days of Christmas programming often attracts major surges in viewership for Freeform, with higher-profile film airings often attracting 3–4 million viewers or more.

<i>How the Grinch Stole Christmas!</i> 1957 childrens story by Dr. Seuss

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a Christmas children's book by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. It follows the Grinch, a cranky, solitary creature who attempts to thwart the public's Christmas plans by stealing Christmas gifts and decorations from the homes of the nearby town of Whoville on Christmas Eve. Miraculously, the Grinch realizes that Christmas is not all about money and presents.

<i>Arthur Christmas</i> 2011 British-American Christmas comedy film

Arthur Christmas is a 2011 animated Christmas comedy film produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation in association with Aardman Animations, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film is Aardman's second mostly computer-animated feature film after 2006's Flushed Away. It was directed by Sarah Smith, co-directed by Barry Cook, and written by Smith and Peter Baynham. Featuring the voices of James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, and Ashley Jensen, the film centres on Arthur Claus, the younger son of Santa Claus, who discovers that his father's high-tech ship has failed to deliver one girl's present. Accompanied only by his grandfather, a Christmas elf and a team of reindeer, he embarks on a mission to deliver the girl's present personally in the early morning hours of Christmas Day before sunrise.

<i>Elf</i> (musical) Musical composed by Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin

Elf is a musical based on the motion picture of the same name, with a score by Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin. The book is adapted by Bob Martin and Thomas Meehan from the 2003 film. The musical ran on Broadway in the Christmas seasons of 2010, 2012, and 2024, in the West End in 2015, 2022, and 2023, and has also toured extensively, often during the Christmas holiday season.

<i>The Santa Clause</i> (franchise) American film series

The Santa Clause is a media franchise that consists of three American holiday family-comedy theatrical feature films starring Tim Allen, and one television series for Disney+. Based on an original story by Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick, the plot centers around Scott Calvin's transformation into Santa Claus, and his adventures thereafter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Carrey filmography</span> Actor filmography

Jim Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian who has appeared in various feature films, television films/series, along with one video game appearance. He is one of the top-50 highest-grossing actors of all time at the North American box office, with over $2.5 billion total gross and an average of $94.3 million per film. He has been involved with thirteen films that grossed over $250 million at the worldwide box office; the highest-grossing film being Bruce Almighty. Carrey gained his first lead role on the short-lived television series The Duck Factory in 1984, playing a young cartoonist. His first starring role in film was the 1985 comedy horror Once Bitten, with Lauren Hutton as a vampire countess and Carrey playing her victim. He landed supporting roles in films, such as Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), The Dead Pool (1988) and Earth Girls Are Easy. In 1990, Carrey received his commercial breakthrough on Fox's In Living Color (1990–1994), where he displayed his character work.

<i>The Grinch</i> (film) 2018 animated film by Scott Mosier and Yarrow Cheney

The Grinch, also known as Dr. Seuss' The Grinch, is a 2018 American animated Christmas comedy film produced by Universal Pictures and Illumination, and distributed by Universal. The third screen adaptation of Dr. Seuss' 1957 book How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, following the 1966 television special and the 2000 live-action feature-length film, it is Illumination's second Dr. Seuss film adaptation, after The Lorax in 2012. The plot follows the Grinch and his pet dog Max who plan to stop Whoville's Christmas celebration by stealing all the town's decorations and gifts.

<i>Violent Night</i> 2022 film directed by Tommy Wirkola

Violent Night is a 2022 American Christmas action comedy film directed by Tommy Wirkola and written by Pat Casey and Josh Miller. It follows Santa Claus as he fights mercenaries who have taken a wealthy family hostage in their home. The film also stars John Leguizamo, Alex Hassell, and Beverly D'Angelo.

<i>The Magic Crystal</i> (2011 film) 2011 animated Christmas film

The Magic Crystal, also released as Santa's Magic Crystal and The Elf that Rescued Christmas in the UK, is a 2011 Finnish-Belgian computer-animated Christmas film directed by Antti Haikala from a screenplay by Haikala, Bob Swain, Dan Wicksman, Nuria Wicksman and Alessandro Liggieri. The film is part of a unified multimedia concept developed by Mikael Wahlfors, which also includes Andrew Bernhardt's Special Patrol children's books, the Italian-produced animated series Red Caps, and the mobile app World Polar Heroes. The Magic Crystal was produced by the Epidem ZOT, Aranéo and Skyline Animation.

References

  1. 1 2 "Dr. Seuss' The Grinch". Box Office Mojo.
  2. ↑ "Home Alone". Box Office Mojo.
  3. ↑ "Alvin And The Chipmunks". Box Office Mojo.
  4. ↑ "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)". The Numbers.
  5. ↑ "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". Box Office Mojo.
  6. ↑ "A Christmas Carol". Box Office Mojo.
  7. ↑ "The Polar Express". Box Office Mojo.
  8. ↑ "Batman Returns". Box Office Mojo.
  9. ↑ "Love Actually". Box Office Mojo.
  10. ↑ "Die Hard 2". Box Office Mojo.
  11. ↑ "Elf". Box Office Mojo.
  12. ↑ "The Holiday". Box Office Mojo.
  13. ↑ "The Santa Clause". Box Office Mojo.
  14. ↑ "While You Were Sleeping". Box Office Mojo.
  15. ↑ "Daddy's Home 2". Box Office Mojo.
  16. 1 2 "The Nutcracker and the Four Realms". Box Office Mojo.
  17. ↑ "The Santa Clause 2". Box Office Mojo.
  18. ↑ "Four Christmases". Box Office Mojo.
  19. ↑ "Gremlins". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  20. 1 2 "Arthur Christmas". Box Office Mojo.
  21. ↑ "Die Hard". Box Office Mojo.
  22. ↑ "A Bad Moms Christmas". Box Office Mojo.
  23. ↑ "Jingle All the Way". Box Office Mojo.
  24. ↑ "The Family Man". Box Office Mojo.
  25. ↑ "Last Christmas". Box Office Mojo.
  26. ↑ "Why Him?". Box Office Mojo.
  27. ↑ "Office Christmas Party". Box Office Mojo.
  28. ↑ "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause". Box Office Mojo.
  29. ↑ "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past". Box Office Mojo.
  30. ↑ "Fred Claus". Box Office Mojo.
  31. ↑ "Christmas with the Kranks". Box Office Mojo.
  32. ↑ "The Nightmare Before Christmas". Box Office Mojo.
  33. ↑ "The Family Stone". Box Office Mojo.
  34. ↑ "Serendipity". Box Office Mojo.
  35. ↑ "Violent Night".
  36. ↑ "Bad Santa". Box Office Mojo.
  37. ↑ "The Best Man Holiday". Box Office Mojo.
  38. ↑ "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation". Box Office Mojo.
  39. ↑ "The Star". Box Office Mojo.
  40. ↑ "Krampus". Box Office Mojo.
  41. ↑ "Scrooged". Box Office Mojo.
  42. ↑ "A Madea Christmas". Box Office Mojo.
  43. ↑ "Just Friends". Box Office Mojo.
  44. ↑ "This Christmas". Box Office Mojo.
  45. ↑ "Deck the Halls". Box Office Mojo.
  46. ↑ "Miracle on 34th Street". Box Office Mojo.
  47. ↑ "Almost Christmas". Box Office Mojo.
  48. ↑ "Love the Coopers". Box Office Mojo.
  49. ↑ "The Holdovers". Box Office Mojo.
  50. ↑ "A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas". Box Office Mojo.
  51. ↑ "All Time Worldwide Opening Records at the Box Office". www.boxofficemojo.com. Archived from the original on 2011-06-23. Retrieved 2014-10-12.
  52. ↑ "How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) - Box Office Mojo". September 5, 2015. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015.
  53. ↑ "Elf (2003) - Box Office Mojo". September 5, 2015. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015.
  54. ↑ "The Polar Express (2004) - Box Office Mojo". September 5, 2015. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015.
  55. ↑ "Four Christmas (2019)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  56. ↑ "Christmas with the Kranks (2004) - Box Office Mojo". September 5, 2015. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015.
  57. ↑ "The Santa Clause 2". September 5, 2015. Archived from the original on August 19, 2015.
  58. ↑ "A Christmas Carol (2009) (2009) - Box Office Mojo". September 5, 2015. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015.
  59. ↑ "The Best Man Holiday (2013) - Box Office Mojo". September 5, 2015. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.