‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’ And ‘The Grinch’ Made Box Office History This Weekend

Box office history was made this weekend as Disney Animation’s Ralph Breaks the Internet and Universal-Illumination’s The Grinch won the top two slots in U.S. theaters for a second straight weekend.

This marks the first time in American box office history that animated films have held the top two spots at the box office for consecutive weekends in a row. It’s proof that multiple animation films can co-exist at the box office, just as live-action films have always done, and may lead Hollywood to reconsider its longstanding belief that there can’t be more than one tentpole animated film in U.S. theaters at the same time.

Ralph Breaks the Internet kept pole position for the third weekend in a row, earning an estimated $16.1 million. Its $140.8 million domestic total to date is in between Walt Disney Studios’ other recent Thanksgiving releases: Coco (2017) had $135.6 million at this point in its run, while Moana (2016) had $144.7 million. Coco wrapped up with $209.7m, and Moana with $248.7m.

The Grinch, in its fifth weekend, held steady at no. 2 with an estimated $15.1 million. The film has grossed $223.4 million to date. This weekend it passed The Lorax, Illumination’s other Dr. Seuss adaptation, which ended its run with $214 million in 2012.