It’s ‘The Grinch’ Who Steals Thanksgiving

Even with the combined debuts of “102 Dalmatians” and “Unbreakable,” the unstoppable “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” ran away with the record-breaking Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

The Imagine Entertainment production soared past the $100-million mark in its eighth day of release, which no other film released outside of summer has ever done. The total after 10 days is a staggering $137.4 million.

Remaining at the head of the class for the five-day holiday period, “Grinch” recorded an estimated $73.8 million on 3,134 screens, leading the top 12 films to an unheard-of $236 million, according to the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations, a handy 13% ahead of last year’s $208-million holiday total. It’s the biggest-grossing holiday period ever, according to Paul Dergarabedian of Exhibitor Relations, with all movies currently playing in theaters expected to surpass a quarter of a billion dollars in just five days. With the average ticket price around $5.25, that means between 48 million and 50 million tickets probably were sold over Thanksgiving.

“Grinch” is Universal’s second major hit of the year from its lucrative long-term production agreement with Imagine (the first was “Nutty Professor II”) and--with a consistent pattern of repeat business already in place--looks to be the biggest hit ever for the company’s principals, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer.

“What Brian and Ron did with this film,” says Universal head Stacey Snider, “is perform a high-wire act, appealing to the parents and kids and also to Jim Carrey’s core audience of teens and adults.”

By not downplaying the subversive elements of the Grinch character, Snider believes Imagine was able to turn a family film into an all-audience “event” movie. About the only unknown now is how well “Grinch” will fare overseas, especially in areas where Dr. Seuss is not a staple and Christmas-themed movies don’t have a guaranteed appeal. As expensive as it was, however, “Grinch” should make back most of its costs just from theatrical release with some extremely thick gravy to come in home video and television.

Even with the sharp pre-Christmas box office decline, “Grinch” seems to have plenty of holding power and should get a bump during the Christmas holidays, virtually ensuring it will surpass the $200-million mark, making it the biggest Christmas-themed movie except for “Home Alone,” which took in almost $286 million a decade ago. Depending on its stamina over the coming month--its only serious family film competitor is Disney’s upcoming “The Emperor’s New Groove,” due Dec. 15--”Grinch” could even top “Home Alone.”

“Unbreakable,” the new film from M. Night Shyamalan (“The Sixth Sense”), again starring Bruce Willis, also scored mightily despite decidedly mixed reviews. The quasi-mystical drama started out on 2,708 screens for a mighty $47.2 million estimate in its first five days in theaters and is Willis’ best three-day total outside of “Armageddon.” According to Disney distribution executive Chuck Viane, the 18- to 25-year-old segment of the audience was the film’s core and expressed the most satisfaction with the suspense film’s surprise ending.

Disney’s other release, “102 Dalmatians,” got squeezed in between “Grinch” and “Rugrats in Paris--The Movie,” both of which got a week’s jump on the family film sequel starring Glenn Close. Three films aimed at the family market may have been one too many, especially with a dominant player like “Grinch.”

“Dalmatians” counted $26.8 million in its first five days on 2,704 screens, a not-insubstantial total, but given the downturn in business over the next few weeks and the approach of a major Disney animated title, “Dalmatians” looks to have an attenuated shelf-life.

“Rugrats in Paris” nipped at the puppies’ heels with a bounteous $22.7 million over the five-day holiday period in 2,937 theaters and a 10-day total of almost $48 million, far more than the film’s cost. As it’s already in hit territory, “Rugrats” can coast through to Christmas.

Increased holiday attendance gave a boost to “Charlie’s Angels,” which amassed another $14 million over the last five days, crossing the nine-figure mark with $109 million in its first four weeks. “Angels” will come up against some more action competition on Dec. 8, when both “Vertical Limit” and “Dungeons and Dragons” open.

“Bounce” benefited from a well-positioned debut when virtually no other strong date-night films were playing in theaters. The romantic drama looks to be a modest hit, with a 10-day total of $24.5 million.

But Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “The 6th Day” was already looking tired, being one of the few films in the top 10 that lost substantial business over the Thanksgiving weekend. Its second-weekend gross is estimated at $10.2 million for a 10-day total of $25.2 million. But given its high price tag and Schwarzenegger’s dwindling audience (at least in the U.S.), “6th Day” could lead to a seventh--the one on which Arnold takes a rest.

True to its blockbuster credentials, “Meet the Parents” got some extra mileage out of the holiday. “Parents” added about $9 million to its coffers and is now just under the $150-million mark, making it the biggest-grossing film ever released in October.

Just ahead of it was another Robert De Niro movie, “Men of Honor,” which distinguished itself over the holidays with $9.3 million or so expected and a three-week total of $35.5 million, a little more than the film’s budget.

At the bottom of the top 10 is the disappointing “Little Nicky,” starring Adam Sandler, which has been soundly trounced by Carrey’s “Grinch.” “Nicky” took in about $6.5 million in the last five days for a pallid total of $33.9 million. The film won’t do much better than $40 million, about half of what it cost to make.

Among limited runs, the British drama “Billy Elliot” got a taste of Thanksgiving bounty by jumping up to $2.6 million over the five-day span on 494 screens, taking the film over the $11-million mark. The second weekend of “You Can Count on Me” is counting increased ticket sales with a five-day total of $638,000 on only 53 screens for a 10-day total of more than $1.1 million.

The star of the exclusive runs appears to be “Quills,” which divided critics so sharply that it brought out the curious in droves. For its first five days on only nine screens, “Quills” registered $314,000, about $36,000 a theater. The film will go on a gradual expansion pattern through the end of the year.

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Holiday Weekend Grosses

“Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas”: $73.8

“Unbreakable”: $47.2

“102 Dalmatians”: $26.8

“Rugrats in Paris”: $22.7