10 biggest movies of 2018

6. Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch

The Grinch stole Christmas yet again this year, as well as a spot among the top 10 domestic box office earners in 2018—though unfortunately, it couldn’t quite steal enough positive reviews. After a month in theaters, Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch has reached $223 million domestic, and its critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes is at 57%. It only gains one additional percentage point if you take the audience score into account. It seems that, even after 18 years since How The Grinch Stole Christmas, this won’t be the movie to breathe new life into the old concept. The animation is bright and engaging and the character designs cute enough, but in the end the new version doesn’t really contribute much to the story other than a shiny CGI face.

The lack of other animated competitors this year may have helped The Grinch’s profits despite its poor reviews. Ralph Breaks the Internet, Incredibles 2, and Hotel Transylvania 3 are the only major animated movies to be released this year, and the last two came out in the summer. Despite garnering much higher reviews, right now Ralph is sitting at $140 million domestically—much less than The Grinch—and for that matter, its budget was $100 million higher than The Grinch’s more conservative $75 million. Of course, The Grinch also has an edge in that it’s a Christmas movie, which will appeal to families all throughout the month of December. It’s already beating The Lorax from 2012, which ended at $212 million domestic.

There’s still time for The Grinch to make more money, but it’s far too late for its ratings to climb. All the same, it’s making a good profit, which is all Universal is probably hoping for—let’s hope they don’t spring for a sequel.