This statistic presents the 20 most successful Christmas movies at the North American box office. The most successful Christmas movie is Home Alone, with a lifetime gross of over 285.7 million U.S. dollars. The 2018 version of the Grinch was in second place, earning more than 270 million U.S. dollars at the domestic box office. Jim Carrey's interpretation of the Dr Seuss classic came in third place, with revenue on just over 260 million U.S. dollars.
Christmas movies - additional information
Despite the popularity of Christmas movies, which are very often repeated every year during the holiday season, none of them have earned enough money to obtain a spot as one of the most successful movies of all time, based on revenue earned. As of 2019, Avatar still leads the way, having earned approximately 2.79 billion U.S. dollars, followed by Titanic with around 2.19 billion U.S. dollars.
The global box office recorded a significant growth in just under a decade, from 2005 to 2017. In 2017, the total box office revenue amounted to approximately 40.6 billion U.S. dollars, up by roughly 14 billion U.S. dollars compared to 2007. With the steady growth of revenue year over year, further success is expected over the next several years.
When considering the highest grossing movies in North America from 1995 to 2017, the most successful genre was adventure. These movies grossed a total of roughly 60 billion U.S. dollars in the span of over two decades.
Domestic box office revenue of the most successful Christmas movies as of February 2019
(in million U.S. dollars)
Characteristic
Box office revenue in U.S. million dollars
Home Alone (1990)
285.76
Dr. Seuss' The Grinch (2018)
270.52
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
260.04
The Polar Express (2004)
157.22
Elf (2003)
173.84
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
173.59
The Santa Clause (1994)
144.83
The Santa Clause 2 (2002)
139.24
A Christmas Carol (2009)
137.86
Four Christmases (2008)
120.15
Daddy's Home 2 (2017)
104.03
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006)
84.5
Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
75.08
Created with Highcharts 7.2.2Box office revenue in U.S. million dollars285.76285.76270.52270.52260.04260.04157.22157.22173.84173.84173.59173.59144.83144.83139.24139.24137.86137.86120.15120.15104.03104.0384.584.575.0875.0873.7873.7872.1172.1172.0172.0171.3271.3270.5370.5360.5960.5960.3360.33Home Alone(1990)Dr. Seuss' The Grinch (2018)How the Grinch StoleChristmas (2000)The Polar Express(2004)Elf(2003)Home Alone 2: Lost in New York(1992)The Santa Clause(1994)The Santa Clause 2(2002)A Christmas Carol(2009)Four Christmases(2008)Daddy's Home 2(2017)The Santa Clause 3:The Escape Clause (2006)Tim Burton's NightmareBefore Christmas (1993)Christmas with the Kranks(2004)A Bad Moms Christmas(2017)Fred Claus(2007)Christmas Vacation(1996)The Best Man Holiday(2013)Jingle All the Way(1996)Scrooged(1988)
020406080100120140160180200220240260280300320
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Box Office Mojo. (February 7, 2019). Domestic box office revenue of the most successful Christmas movies as of February 2019 (in million U.S. dollars) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved April 04, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/209295/domestic-box-office-revenue-of-the-most-successful-christmas-movies/
Box Office Mojo. "Domestic box office revenue of the most successful Christmas movies as of February 2019 (in million U.S. dollars)." Chart. February 7, 2019. Statista. Accessed April 04, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/209295/domestic-box-office-revenue-of-the-most-successful-christmas-movies/
Box Office Mojo. (2019). Domestic box office revenue of the most successful Christmas movies as of February 2019 (in million U.S. dollars). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: April 04, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/209295/domestic-box-office-revenue-of-the-most-successful-christmas-movies/
Box Office Mojo. "Domestic Box Office Revenue of The Most Successful Christmas Movies as of February 2019 (in Million U.S. Dollars)." Statista, Statista Inc., 7 Feb 2019, https://www.statista.com/statistics/209295/domestic-box-office-revenue-of-the-most-successful-christmas-movies/
Box Office Mojo, Domestic box office revenue of the most successful Christmas movies as of February 2019 (in million U.S. dollars) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/209295/domestic-box-office-revenue-of-the-most-successful-christmas-movies/ (last visited April 04, 2025)
Domestic box office revenue of the most successful Christmas movies as of February 2019 (in million U.S. dollars) [Graph], Box Office Mojo, February 7, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/209295/domestic-box-office-revenue-of-the-most-successful-christmas-movies/
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