'Grinch': Movie Man of Year

By Stephen M. Silverman

06/17/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

"Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas" has proven to be green, after all. VERY green. Director Ron Howard's movie starring Jim Carrey and based on the Dr. Seuss classic about -- well, the title really tells it all --yesterday became the highest grossing film of the year. With $216.4 in its till, it topped 2000's previous money winner, Tom Cruise's summer action vehicle "Mission: Impossible 2" (which brought in $215.4 million), according to the Hollywood Reporter and Variety. "Grinch" also wasted no time in making its mark: 33 days. It took "M:I-2" about four months to reach its earnings peak. In addition, "Grinch" is now the 25th highest-grossing film of all time, surpassing Steven Spielberg's 1998 "Saving Private Ryan" ($216.1 million). Other winners for 2000: third-ranked "Gladiator" ($186.6 million), fourth-ranked "The Perfect Storm" ($182.6 million) and fifth-ranked "Meet the Parents" ($159 million).