With $42.1 Million, ‘Shrek’ Is No Ogre With Audiences

DreamWorks’ “Shrek” out-roared “The Lion King’s” non-holiday, three-day record for animated movies with an estimated $42.1-million debut in 3,587 theaters this weekend. Not only was that better than “Lion King’s” $40.9-million debut, but it also occurred before the official beginning of summer (“Lion King” opened in June), when audiences are more readily available.

Among animated films, only Disney/Pixar’s “Toy Story 2” has ever done better: $57.4 million for the Friday-to-Sunday lap of Thanksgiving weekend in 1999.

“Shrek” performed even better than was expected from industry tracking estimates. The moderately budgeted, computer-generated fairy tale pulled down strong reviews, which helped attract adults to the family-film title, as did the paucity of movies in theaters that appeal to children.

According to company distribution head Jim Tharp, the audience was split evenly between patrons over and under 25 years of age, and just as equally among family and non-family patrons.

For the 6-year-old studio DreamWorks, “Shrek” is a high-water mark with the potential to be the company’s most successful movie ever. Many of its biggest films--such as “Saving Private Ryan,” “Cast Away” and “Gladiator”--were shared-risk ventures with other studios. But the totally self-financed “Shrek” looks to be a major cash cow for DreamWorks, solidifying the company’s presence as a top animation provider, building on last summer’s surprise hit “Chicken Run” ($107 million) and such other performers as “Prince of Egypt” ($101 million) and “Antz” ($90 million). Only its “Road to El Dorado” ($50 million) has disappointed.

“Shrek” also draws a line in the sand in the animation wars this summer, with four major features to follow, the next being Disney’s animated adventure “Atlantis,” which opens nationwide on June 15, giving “Shrek” an entire month to itself. Later in the summer, Warner Bros. chimes in with “Cats & Dogs” and “Osmosis Jones,” while Sony will contribute “Final Fantasy.”

The only other major film to open nationwide over the weekend was the thriller “Angel Eyes,” starring Jennifer Lopez, which registered a relatively tame $9.5 million on 2,375 screens, to rank fourth. Reviews were mixed, but “Angel Eyes” still has the advantage of the coming Memorial Day holiday, which will bring only one new film, albeit an expected blockbuster, “Pearl Harbor.”

In limited release, 20th Century Fox introduced Baz Luhrmann’s musical extravaganza “Moulin Rouge,” starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor. Reviews were all over the place. But the New York and Los Angeles single-theater debut registered an operatic $165,086. The movie will fan out nationwide on June 1.

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The third weekend for “The Mummy Returns” was a strong $20.5 million or so in 3,450 theaters, bringing its 17-day total to an impressive $146 million. “Pearl Harbor” should take a bite out of “Mummy’s” returns next weekend, but as with the original, which opened two years ago in advance of “Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace,” this “Mummy” should keep rolling, surpassing the original (which grossed about $153 million).

“A Knight’s Tale” has the teen/young adult audience pretty much to itself, which resulted in a good take of about $10.7 million in its second weekend, in 2,980 theaters. Although it’s no blockbuster, “Tale” has accumulated a good $32 million in its first 10 days.

The four top films accounted for the lion’s share of tickets sold over the weekend, as the next six were all showing signs of wear and tear. Fifth place fell to “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” with an additional $3.8 million anticipated in its sixth weekend in 2,142 theaters and a bully $56.6 million to date. “Along Came a Spider” is creeping its way toward $70 million with $2.4 million more over the weekend.

The racing drama “Driven” is coasting in neutral, with only $1.9 million in its fourth weekend and about $29 million to date. “Blow,” starring Johnny Depp, has been a surprise performer, with almost $50 million so far, $1.35 million of that over the past weekend.

After two months, “Spy Kids” is on its way out, with $1.3 million expected this weekend and an excellent $103.5 million to date. In 10th place was “Memento,” on only 484 screens, with $1.3 million anticipated this weekend--an increase from the previous week--and $12 million so far.

Receipts for the top 12 films jumped 36% from last weekend to $96.9 million, but the tally was off 5.5% from the year-ago weekend.

Box Office

“Shrek” amassed an estimated $42.1 million at the box office over the weekend, the second best weekend ever for an animated film (after “Toy Story 2”).

Estimated weekend grosses (in millions):

1. “Shrek”: $42.1

2. “The Mummy Returns”: $20.5

3. “A Knight’s Tale”: $10.7

4. “Angel Eyes”: $9.5

5. “Bridget Jones’s Diary”: $3.8

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