Christmas movies by the box office numbers

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By Lisa Goudy

Christmas is just around the corner.

There are many Christmas movies we can watch this time of year and we tend to stick to our Christmas favourites.

But what about box office success of Christmas movies? Many Christmas films don’t make tons of money in the theatre, as far as movie dollars are concerned. Just look at ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’ That film is now a classic, but in the theatres it was a massive failure that couldn’t even recoup its production costs.

That said, according to Box Office Mojo, here is a list of the Top 10 highest grossing Christmas films, ordered by lifetime gross. Don’t take this to be a list of the best Christmas movies, though, because how much a film makes at a box office isn’t always equivalent to how enjoyable the movie is. Interestingly enough, the newest Christmas movie that made the cut was released in 2009.

With that, here’s the list:

10. ‘Fred Claus’ (2007) – This film, starring Vince Vaughn, made $18.52 million at the box office and has a lifetime gross of $72.01 million. Released on Nov. 9, 2007, the film is about Santa’s brother Fred who is a troublemaker. His criminal ways get him into big trouble and Santa bails him out, bringing him to the North Pole to work off his debt my making toys. However, Fred doesn’t make things easy for his brother.

9. ‘Christmas with the Kranks’ (2004) – This film, based on John Grisham’s book, ‘Skipping Christmas,’ made $21.57 million at the box office when it was released on Nov. 24, 2004, and it has a lifetime gross of $73.78 million. RThe film, starring Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis, follows a couple who are finally alone for the holidays who plan to take a Caribbean cruise over Christmas and do away with Christmas traditions. However, this doesn’t sit well with neighbours.

8. ‘The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause’ (2006) - If there’s one thing Hollywood does a lot of, it’s sequels and remakes. Such is the case for the second and third in Tim Allen’s three ‘The Santa Clause’ films. The third installment made $19.50 million at the box office and it has a lifetime gross of $84.50 million. Released on Nov. 3, 2006, the movie is about Santa inviting his in-laws for a visit while dealing with Jack Frost’s plan to take over the North Pole.

7. ‘Four Christmases’ (2008) – This film, starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon, made $31.07 million at the box office and it has a lifetime gross of $120.15 million. The film follows an unmarried couple whose exotic vacation plans fall apart and are then left with traversing a quartet of family get-togethers.

6. ‘A Christmas Carol’ (2009) – This is a classic tale by Charles Dickens and this version of the film made $30.05 million at the box office and it has a lifetime gross of $137.86 million. Jim Carrey stars as miserable Ebenezer Scrooge who believes Christmas is all humbug, but when he encounters three ghosts of the past, present and future, his night takes a very different turn.

5. ‘The Santa Clause 2’ (2002) – Yes, it’s true. The second installment of Tim Allen’s ‘The Santa Clause’ films also made the list and it made more than the third film. The sequel, released on Nov. 1, 2002, made $29.01 million at the box office and has a lifetime gross of $139.27 million. This film is about Santa’s son who ends up of this year’s naughty list.

4. ‘The Santa Clause’ (1994) – Tim Allen’s film ranks fourth on this list of highest grossing Christmas films, having made $19.32 million when it opened on Nov. 11, 1994. With a lifetime gross of $144.83 million, the movie follows a divorced father who has custody of his son on Christmas Eve, but after the death of a man in a Santa suit – and a visit to the North Pole – he is told he’ll take Santa’s place before the next Christmas comes.

3. ‘Elf’ (2003) – This Will Ferrell film had a successful opening weekend when it opened on Nov. 7, 2003. It made $31.11 million at the box office that weekend and has a lifetime gross of $173.40 million. This isn’t bad for a film about a man accidentally transported to the North Pole as a toddler, raised to adulthood among Santa’s elves and as an adult travels to New York in full elf uniform to look for his real father.

2. ‘The Polar Express’ (2004) – This film made $23.32 million when it opened on Nov. 10, 2004. Starring the voice of Tom Hanks, the film about a young boy embarking on adventure to the North Pole on The Polar Express – based on the children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg – has a lifetime gross of $183.37 million.

1. ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ (2000) – Who can go wrong with the Grinch? Well this film starring Jim Carrey certainly didn’t go wrong at the box office as far as Christmas movies go, as this ranks as the highest grossing Christmas release. When it opened on Nov. 17, 2000, it made $55.08 million. Its lifetime gross is $250.04 million.

Honourable mentions:

1. Home Alone (1990) – While this movie wasn’t included in Box Office Mojo’s list of ‘Movies About the Holiday Grosses,’ it was included on the ‘Movies set during the holiday but not about it’ category. However, for many people this also a timeless Christmas film. When it opened on Nov. 16, 1990, ‘Home Alone’ starring Macaulay Culkin made $17.08 million. Its lifetime gross is $285.76 million. This puts it ahead of The Grinch and into the No. 1 spot for the highest-grossing Christmas film of all time.

2. Christmas Vacation (1989) – This didn’t make the Top 10 list of either Box Office Mojo list – it ranks No. 12 on the ‘Movies About the Holiday Grosses’ list – but it’s a classic film that deserves a mention. Released on Dec. 1, 1989, the film starring Chevy Chase made $11.75 million at the box office and it has a lifetime gross of $71.32 million. After all, as Clark Griswold would say, “I did it.”

3. ‘Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas’ (1993) – A debate has long raged among fans as to whether this is a Christmas film or a Halloween film. Truth be told, it has elements of both, but director Henry Selick told Entertainment Weekly this year that, “It’s a Halloween movie.” That said, it’s still included on the Box Office Mojo’s list as it does incorporate elements of Christmas when Halloweentown’s beloved pumpkin king Jack Skellington travels to Christmastown to kidnap Santa Claus and take over the role. The film only made $191,232 at the box office, but it has a lifetime gross of $75.08 million.

*** This article also appeared in the Dec. 16, 2015 edition of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald's weekly publication, UnCut.