From box-office standards, the classic status of How the Grinch Stole Christmas should be a slam dunk. It is the third highest-grossing holiday movie of all time and the second most successful Dr Seuss adaptation after the 2018 animated movie The Grinch, where Benedict Cumberbatch voices the green grump.

Which, since filming on How the Grinch Stole Christmas got underway that same year, resulted in some overlap for the star of both films. "Jim Carrey didn't exist at that time," the actor told an audience at the 2017 Venice Film Festival,