'Grinch' Unstoppable at Box Office

Dec. 10 -- Not even avalanches, illicit romance or computer-generated dragons could unseat the Grinch from his own Mount Crumpit, the top of the box office, this weekend.

For the fourth week in a row, Jim Carrey’s grouchy mugging in Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas has bested all newcomers.

This weekend, the luckless challengers were the mountain rescue adventure pic Vertical Limit, which settled for second place and $16 million; and the Meg Ryan-Russell Crowe romancer Proof of Life, which debuted in third place with $10.4 million.

The Grinch added $18.5 million to its coffers this weekend, and has now earned $196 million, blowing past Gladiator as the second-highest-grossing film of 2000.

Exhibitor Relations’ Paul Dagarabedian predicts that it will easily surpass Mission: Impossible 2’s $215 million take, and will do so in about half the time.

The last film to go four-for-four in No. 1 weekends was Meet the Parents, and the last film to top that was The Sixth Sense with five No. 1 weekends in a row in 1999. Titanic still holds the record, having spent 15 weeks at No. 1.

Newcomers Fall Short First Weekend

Box office analysts predicted the adrenaline-inducing mountaintop heroics of Vertical Limit, which stars Chris O’Donnell and Robin Tunney, would be the film to unseat Universal’s furry green moneymaker. Still, a $16 million December debut is “nothing to cry about,” says Dagarabedian.

Although Gladiator sword-wielder Crowe still cuts a fine action figure in Proof (with a few critics already hailing him as “the new Bogie” for his part in the Casablanca-like tale), the film from director Taylor Hackford didn’t quite have the drawing power of Gladiator’s $34.8 million opening in May.

It could be that the public had gotten enough of the real-life romance between Crowe and Ryan in the tabloids, or that Ryan’s perfectly coifed presence in the drama still made it too much of a “chick flick” to appeal to guys.