As Slade once sang, it’s Christmaaaaas! Millions of people across the world will watch Christmas movies today – but if I told you which one has made the most money, you probably wouldn’t believe me.
It’s an annual ritual as inevitable as advent calendars and belting out most of the lyrics to ‘Fairytale of New York’: every year, people work through a list of the best Christmas movies they want to watch for the umpteenth time.
There’s something for everyone: if you want a tear-jerker, you’ve got It’s a Wonderful Life and Love Actually; if you want action movies, there’s Die Hard and Lethal Weapon; if you want horror movies, there’s Black Christmas and Gremlins; and if you want to see people getting tortured, there’s always the Home Alone films.
However, given their success is defined by how often they’re rewatched on DVD and streaming, often years (if not decades) after their theatrical releases, you’ve probably never thought about whether or not they made any money in cinemas. Well, one movie sits atop the throne by a substantial margin.
The Grinch is the biggest Christmas movie ever
The Grinch – no, not that one, Illumination’s 2018 animated film – is the highest-grossing Christmas movie ever with $538 million worldwide.
That’s right, a movie that left almost no pop-cultural footprint is the biggest Xmas film of all time. For some kids, it’ll have been their first experience of Dr Seuss’ classic story, and they may request to watch it again every year – but for most people, Jim Carrey’s version reigns supreme (or even the 1966 TV special).
This isn’t to say it’s bad: it’s quite charming! Benedict Cumberbatch voices the titular humbug, and while it’s not as dark as Ron Howard’s adaptation, it affectingly navigates the Grinch’s warm-hearted arc (plus Max is so cute). Also, Danny Elfman wrote the score, so you can’t complain about that.
However, it’s worth noting the state of cinemas when The Grinch premiered. It was the only new Christmas movie in cinemas in 2018, it was aimed specifically at families, and there wasn’t much else for kids (between October and November, you had Goosebumps 2, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and Mary Poppins Returns).
We’ve seen it with other films, too: Moana 2’s box office exceeded everyone’s expectations, but it didn’t have a lot of competition for family audiences, and The Super Mario Bros Movie held the line for months and became 2023’s second-biggest film.
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Highest-grossing Christmas movies of all time
Below, I’ve listed the top 20 highest-grossing Christmas movies of all time based on their worldwide box office grosses – some will seem obvious, but others could surprise you.
- The Grinch (2019) – $538 million
- Home Alone (1990) – $476 million
- Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) – $365 million
- Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) – $358 million
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) – $345 million
- A Christmas Carol (2009) – $325 million
- The Polar Express (2004) – $315 million
- Batman Returns (1992) – $266 million
- Love Actually (2003) – $245 million
- Die Hard 2 (1990) – $240 million
- Elf (2003) – $225 million
- The Holiday (2006) – $205 million
- The Santa Clause (1994) – $172 million
- While You Were Sleeping (1995) – $182 million
- Daddy’s Home 2 (2017) – $180 million
- The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018) – $173 million
- The Santa Clause 2 (2002) – $172 million
- Four Christmases (2008) – $163 million
- Gremlins (1984) – $153 million
- Arthur Christmas (2011) – $147 million
What’s more surprising: that Die Hard 2 is on the list, but Die Hard isn’t (it just missed the cut with $141m), or that there are two Santa Clause films in the top 20?
There’s one film I want to highlight because its box office haul is an extraordinary achievement: Home Alone.
Home Alone is the oldest movie on the list, and yet it’s still in second place. That figure hasn’t been adjusted for inflation, which makes it even more impressive; even with ‘90s ticket prices, it’s still flattened almost everything that’s come after it.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ inflation calculator, $476 million in 1990 equates to $1.17 billion in today’s money. However, that’s slightly unfair: Home Alone has replayed in cinemas for years since its release, and its box office haul is inclusive of that, so it’s steadily raked in more money.
You can also check out our list of the highest-grossing movies of all time and the best movies of 2024.
