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Story by: Jack Foley
SHREK 2 continues to dominate the US Box Office over the Memorial
Day holiday weekend, shooting past the $200 million barrier, and
holding on to the number one spot, despite fierce competition
from disaster epic, The
Day After Tomorrow.
The animated sequel took an estimated $73.1m (£40m) over
the weekend, compared to Tomorrow's $70m (£38m), which means
it has now grossed almost $240 million £130m) since it opened.
The figures mean that the hit follow-up to the Oscar-winning
original, which reunites the voices of Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers
and Eddie Murphy, has now broken Spider-Man's record for second
weekend takings.
The Day After Tomorrow performed according to expectation in
its home country and was backed by some positive reviews.
And, thanks to a world-wide release date in 102 countries, it
made a further $82.1m (£44.8m) outside America, taking its
world-wide takings to $152.1m (£82.5m).
Over the same period, Brad Pitt’s blockbuster, Troy,
slipped to third place in the US top ten, with takings of $11.5m
(£6.3m), while Raising Helen, a romantic comedy starring
Kate Hudson, opened at four with a modest $11.2m (£6.1m)
haul.
Shrek 2 opens in UK cinemas in July, when it is likely to compete
head to head with Spider-Man 2.
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POSTED EARLIER: SHREK 2 has proven to be the monster hit
of the Summer so far, hitting the top of the US box office chart
with an estimated $104.3m opening weekend take, and taking its
total to $125.3m (£70.2m) since opening last Wednesday (May
19, 2004).
The opening take more than doubled the receipts of the original,
over the same period, while the single-day takings ($44.8m) for
Saturday narrowly beat the previous record, set by Spider-Man,
of $43.8m.
In what has proved to be a record-breaking period for the movie
so far, Shrek 2 also scored the biggest midweek opening to date
for an animated feature, with $11.8m (£6.7m), beating the
record set by Pokemon: The First Movie, in 1999.
The film also broke another record in the US over the weekend,
by being screened in 4,163 cinemas - making it the largest debut
of all time.
Needless to say, a spokesperson for Dreamworks, the company which
made the film, described the opening as exceeding all expectations.
While Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations, which
tracks cinema audiences in the US, added: "This is unprecedented
- I've never seen a movie open in that many theatres."
The success of Shrek comes as a welcome boost to Hollywood, in
a year that had been so far defined by the success of Mel Gibson’s
The Passion of the Christ.
While Van Helsing and Troy
had both posted strong opening weekends, both movies fell below
initial targets, and could well struggle to make back their extensive
production costs.
Troy slipped to second place at the weekend, with $23.9m (£13.4m),
while Van Helsing is now third.
Acerbic teen comedy, Mean Girls, starring Freaky Friday's Lindsay
Lohan, was fourth at the box office, while Denzel Washington's
explosive revenge thriller, Man
on Fire, was fifth.
The original Shrek, which went
on to win an Oscar, took $42.3m (£23.7m) in its opening
weekend, in May 2001. The sequel reunites original cast members,
Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy and Mike Myers, with newcomers such
as Antonio Banderas, John Cleese and Jennifer Saunders.
However, the animated sequel will face stiffer competition from
disaster movie, The Day After Tomorrow, which gets a simultaneous
US and UK release on Friday - and which looks set to go down a
storm, thanks to its relevant environmental message, and outstanding
special effects.
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