The Grinch: Christmas film starring Benedict Cumberbatch tops US box office with $66m debut

It lags behind several of Illumination's major hits including 'The Secret Life of Pets', 'Minions', and 'Despicable Me 2'

Animation studio Illumination's brand new version of The Grinch topped the US box office over the weekend with an impressive $66m opening.

The Dr Seuss adaptation sees Benedict Cumberbatch voice the eponymous grump, with musician Pharrell Williams on hand to narrate his various misdeeds – specifically, the stealing of Christmas.

The box office result sees The Grinch lag behind several of Illumination's major hits: The Secret Life of Pets opened with $104m, Minions opened with $115m, and Despicable Me 2 opened with $83m.

However, that still makes it the biggest ever debut, without inflation, for a Christmas film. 2006's Christmas Carol earned a $30m debut, while 2004's Polar Express also landed a $30m debut.

Added to that, it earned a $78.7m worldwide total, although it will now have to perform against other early holiday big-hitters such as Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and Ralph Breaks the Internet, which both open within the next two weeks.

The Secret Life of Pets director Yarrow Cheney directed the film, alongside frequent Kevin Smith collaborator Scott Mosier, with Michael LeSieur on writing duty.

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