'The Grinch' Eyeing Stellar Opening Weekend at the Box Office

It looks like Christmas isn't the only thing The Grinch is looking to steal this year, as Illumination's animated Christmas tale is set to take over the box office this weekend.

According to a report from Variety, The Grinch is currently eyeing a weekend debut around $55 million at the domestic box office, with higher projections closer to $65 million. The movie is launching on a total of 4,140 screens around the country, and will easily top the other two weekend openers, Overlord and The Girl in the Spider's Web.

The Grinch, which features the voice of Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular holiday antagonist, is brought to life by Illumination, the studio behind Despicable Me and The Secret Life of Pets. Illumination tried its hand at another Doctor Seuss property back in 2012, when it released The Lorax in theaters. That film earned $70 million in its first weekend, on the way to $348 million around the world in its entire theatrical run. Given that The Grinch and The Lorax had similar budgets, it will likely have a similar overall performance for the studio when all is said and done.

If The Grinch does open at $55 million, that will create some eerily similar parallels to Jim Carrey's live-action How The Grinch Stole Christmas. When that film opened in November of 2000, it earned just over $55 million in its opening weekend. That movie went on to total $345 million globally, the second-biggest holiday movie of all time.

The Grinch isn't facing a ton of competition this weekend, with Sony's The Girl in the Spider's Web expecting to make between $10 million and $15 million in 2,400 theaters. The studio is less optimistic however, projecting a debut around $8 million.

Overlord, the World War II horror film from producer J.J. Abrams, is the third wide release of the weekend, opening at 2,850 locations around the country. Current projections are suggesting Overlord will earn between $8 million and $13 million.

How much money do you think The Grinch will make in its opening weekend? Are you excited to see it? Let us know in the comments!