LOS ANGELES 鈥� You鈥檙e a mean one 鈥� and you鈥檙e number one 鈥� Mr. Grinch.
鈥淒r. Seuss鈥� The Grinch鈥� sledded past mixed reviews and made off with $66 million for Universal Pictures to top the weekend North American box office, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Last week鈥檚 top film, the Queen biopic 鈥淏ohemian Rhapsody,鈥� drops to second for 20th Century Fox with a $30.8 million weekend that brings its overall take to $100 million.
Illumination, the Universal-owned animators behind 鈥淭he Minions鈥� and 鈥淒espicable Me,鈥� produced the latest interpretation of Seuss鈥� 1957 book that led to a 1966 TV special and first came to the big screen as a live-action feature starring Jim Carrey in 2000.
Paramount Pictures鈥� war-horror hybrid 鈥淥verlord鈥� was third in its first weekend with $10.1 million. Disney鈥檚 鈥淭he Nutcracker and the Four Realms鈥� brought in $9.5 million and finished fourth in its second week. The weekend鈥檚 other major debut, 鈥淭he Girl in the Spider鈥檚 Web,鈥� made just $8 million and finished fifth.
Illumination鈥檚 鈥淕rinch,鈥� narrated by Pharrell Williams, gives the title character, voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, a backstory in an orphanage and fills out the story of his foil Cindy Lou Who.
It鈥檚 the second Seuss adaptation for Illumination. Its version of 鈥淭he Lorax鈥� opened with a comparable $70 million weekend and went on to gross $348.8 million worldwide.
鈥淭he Grinch鈥� was widely expected to be No. 1 with few other major openings this weekend, but it surpassed projections that had it bringing in closer to $60 million, continuing what鈥檚 become a trend in 2018.
鈥溾�楾he Grinch鈥� is just the latest in a string of over-performers,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. 鈥溾�楤ohemian Rhapsody鈥� was bigger than expected, 鈥楢 Star Is Born鈥� was bigger than expected. It鈥檚 fueling a box-office surge.鈥�
The industry has reached a cumulative box office total of $10 billion faster than in any other year, Dergarabedian said.
The Christmas theme of 鈥淭he Grinch鈥� could sustain it through the holidays and Universal hopes it has a longer life than that.
鈥淲ith Thanksgiving coming, we鈥檙e poised to have a great run through that,鈥� said Jim Orr, president of domestic distribution for Universal. 鈥淚llumination鈥檚 created such a classic take on this beloved character that audiences will be enjoying it for a really long time.鈥�
But big rivals loom soon, including 鈥淔antastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald鈥� next week and 鈥淩alph Breaks The Internet鈥� on Nov. 21.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got a lot of competition coming up for family audiences,鈥� Dergarabedian said.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday also are included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淒r Seuss鈥� The Grinch,鈥� $66 million ($12.7 million international).
2. 鈥淏ohemian Rhapsody,鈥� $30.8 million ($63 million international).
3. 鈥淥verlord,鈥� $10.1 million, ($9.2 million international).
4. 鈥淭he Nutcracker and the Four Realms,鈥� $9.5 million, ($13.5 million international).
5. 鈥淭he Girl in the Spider鈥檚 Web,鈥� $8 million, ($6.2 million international).
6. 鈥淎 Star Is Born,鈥� $8 million ($9 million international).
7. 鈥淣obody鈥檚 Fool,鈥� $6.5 million.
8. 鈥淰enom,鈥� $4.8 million ($118.2 million international).
9. 鈥淗alloween,鈥� $3.8 million ($5.9 million).
10. 鈥淭he Hate U Give,鈥� $2 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theatres (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore:
1. 鈥淰enom,鈥� $118.2 million.
2. 鈥淏ohemian Rhapsody,鈥� $63 million.
3. 鈥淭he Nutcracker and the Four Realms,鈥� $13.5 million.
4. 鈥淒r Seuss鈥� The Grinch,鈥� $12.7 million.
5. 鈥淒etective Conan: Zero the Enforcer,鈥� $12.4 million.
6. 鈥淚ntimate Strangers,鈥� $9.2 million.
7. 鈥淥verlord,鈥� $9.2 million.
8. 鈥淎 Star Is Born,鈥� $9 million.
9. 鈥淭he Girl in the Spider鈥檚 Web,鈥� $6.2 million.
10. 鈥淗alloween,鈥� $5.9 million.
