SHREK 2 - SHREK IS GREEN MONSTER AT BOX OFFICE

Shrek the Third defied both box-office analysts and the majority of film critics as it opened with an estimated $122 million in ticket sales over the weekend -- making it the third-highest opening in box-office history. It was also the best opening ever for an animated film, exceeding the record set by Shrek 2, and the best opening in history for a film released by Paramount, Hollywood's oldest studio. "We could not have asked for a better opening," Anne Globe, head of marketing at DreamWorks Animation, told today's (Monday) Los Angeles Times. Spider-Man 3, which set the record for the highest-grossing film just two weekends earlier with $151 million in ticket sales dropped 51 percent to $28.5 million but landed in second place. It has now collected $281.9 million domestically.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Media by Numbers:
1. Shrek the Third, $122 million; 2. Spider-Man 3, $28.5 million; 3. 28 Weeks Later, $5.15 million; 4. Disturbia, $3.7 million; 5. Georgia Rule, $3.5 million; 6. Fracture, $2.4 million. 7. Delta Farce, $1.8 million; 8. The Invisible, $1.3 million; 9. Hot Fuzz, $1.26 million; 10. Waitress, $1.14 million.

21/05/2007