‘The Piano Lesson’ Makes Netflix Top 10 but Below Other Originals, ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ Leads iTunes

Meanwhile, "Smile 2" is #1 at Fandango, #2 at iTunes.

He’s back, and this year before Thanksgiving, and even as #1 at iTunes.

We’re talking about the Grinch. Two Universal hits featuring the Dr. Seuss character — one live-action (Ron Howard’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” starring Jim Carrey), one animated (“The Grinch” from 2018) — both have returned to top 10 VOD lists. And with a vengeance — “How the Grinch” is #1 at iTunes (which ranks by transactions) but even more impressively #7 at Fandango. With that site calculating by revenue, the $3.99 rental cost at 20 percent of the normal $19.99 level (eight of their 10 films have that), it means a huge volume that likely made it tops in transactions there.

Netflix originals continue their hot hand, with five of the top six positions on their U.S. movie chart Monday. “The Piano Lesson,” from August Wilson’s play and featuring Danielle Deadwyler’s award-touted lead performance, is #6 at the moment after debuting at #5 over the weekend.

“Smile 2” (Paramount) did best among three new recent theatrical releases to debut during the week. It is #1 at Fandango, now second at iTunes after leading for five days. A24’s “We Live in Time,” a romance with Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, is #6 at iTunes, #8 at Fandango. “Absolution” (Samuel Goldwyn), the latest Liam Neeson action release, is fourth at Fandango. All rent for $19.99.

“The Grinch” so far is only listed at iTunes (#10). The difference between it and the earlier live-action version in part is that the animated film is also streaming on Peacock. Ron Howard’s film at the moment isn’t, allowing Universal to pocket some decent money from a lot of $3.99 rentals.

Next week will see both “Conclave” (after five weekends, an unusually long window for Focus) and “Terrifier 3” (Cineverse) become available, along with Robert Zemeckis’ “Here” (Sony) after only three weekends.

“The Merry Gentlemen” is #1 at Netflix, with the streamer’s second consecutive winter/holiday-themed original focusing on sexy men often dishabille. In this case, Chad Michael Murray leads an all-male revue looking to save a small town performance center. Last week, “Hot Frosty,” a rom-com featuring a snowman who comes to life as an often shirtless (in winter) repairman, was #1; this week it is #4.

In between are two other originals. “Spellbound,” an animated feature from “Shrek” co-director Vicky Jenson is second, while “Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy,” a British documentary about how companies maximize consumer interest, is #3.

Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez,” which Netflix bought for the United States, the U.K., and Canada, again is not in their top 10 despite the presence of six other originals (including the Colombian “The Lost Children”).

Top 10s

iTunes ranks films daily by number of transactions, while Fandango at Home lists by revenue. The listings below are for Monday, November 25 (iTunes) and the week of November 18-24 (Fandango).

The distributors listed are current rights owners. Prices for all titles are for lowest for either rental or download.

iTunes

1. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Universal) – $3.99

2. Smile 2 (Paramount) – $19.99

3. It Ends with Us (Sony) – $5.99

4. Gladiator (Universal) – $3.99

5. The Wild Robot (Universal) – $19.99

6. We Live in Time (A24) – $19.99

7. Deadpool & Wolverine (Disney) – $12.99

8. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (WB) – $19.99

9. Reagan (Showbiz Direct) – $5.99

10. The Grinch (Universal) – $3.99

Fandango at Home

1. Smile 2 (Paramount) – $19.99

2. Deadpool & Wolverine (Disney) – $12.99

3. The Wild Robot (Universal) – $19.99

4. Absolution (Goldwyn) – $19.99

5. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (WB) – $19.99

6. Alien: Romulus (Disney) – $19.99

7. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Universal) – $3.99

8. We Live in Time (A24) – $19.99

9. Transformers One (Paramount) – $19.99

10. The Substance (MUBI) – $19.99

Netflix Movies

These are the most-viewed, current rankings on Netflix’s domestic daily chart on November 25. Originals include both Netflix-produced and acquired titles it initially presents in the U.S. Netflix publishes its own worldwide weekly top 10 on Tuesdays based on time viewed, and usually includes films for which it doesn’t have domestic rights. They have no other U.S.-only weekly chart.

1. The Merry Gentlemen (Netflix original)

2. Spellbound (Netflix animated original)

3. Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy (Netflix British original documentary)

4. Hot Frosty (Netflix original)

5. Father Figures (2017 theatrical release)

6. The Piano Lesson (Netflix original)

7. The Lost Children (Colombian Netflix original)

8. Rob Peace (2024 theatrical release)

9. The Secret Life of Pets (2016 theatrical release)

10. Sing (2016 theatrical release)