Bangkok Post

The Grinch carries off Bt2.2bn from box office

- ANDREW DALTON

Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch sledded past mixed reviews and made off with US$66 million (2.2 billion baht) for Universal Pictures to top the weekend North American box office, according to studio estimates on Sunday.

Last week’s top film, the Queen biopic

Bohemian Rhapsody, 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 Despicable Me and The Minions, produced the latest interpreta­tion of Seuss’s 1957 book, following a 1966 TV special and the 2000 big-screen live-action feature starring Jim Carrey.

Paramount Pictures’ war-horror hybrid

Overlord was third in its first weekend with $10.1 million. Disney’s The Nutcracker And The Four Realms brought in $9.5 million and finished fourth in its second week. The weekend’s other major debut, The Girl In The Spider’s Web, made just $8 million and finished fifth.

Illuminati­on’s The Grinch, 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’s the second Seuss adaptation for Illuminati­on; its version of The Lorax opened with a comparable $70 million weekend and went on to gross $348.8 million worldwide.

The Grinch 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’s become a trend in 2018.

“The Grinch is just the latest in a string of over-performers,” said Paul Dergarabed­ian, senior media analyst for comScore. “Bohemian Rhapsody was bigger than expected; A Star Is Born was bigger than expected. It’s fuelling a box-office surge.’’

The industry has reached a cumulative box office total of $10 billion faster than in any other year, he said. The Christmas theme of The Grinch could sustain it through the holidays, and Universal hopes it has an even longer life than that.

“With Thanksgivi­ng coming, we’re poised to have a great run through that,’’ said Jim Orr, president of domestic distributi­on for Universal. “Illuminati­on’s created such a classic take on this beloved character that audiences will be enjoying it for a really long time.’’

But big rivals loom, including Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwal­d next week and Ralph Breaks The Internet on Nov 21.

“We’ve got a lot of competitio­n coming up for family audiences,’’ Dergarabed­ian said.

 ??  ?? The Grinch, voiced by Benedict Cumberbatc­h.
The Grinch, voiced by Benedict Cumberbatc­h.

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