Weekend Box Office (May 21 - 23, 2004)

by Gitesh Pandya

THIS WEEKEND Green ruled the box office as DreamWorks' not-so-jolly ogre film Shrek 2 pulled in record amounts of cash with a jaw-dropping $108M opening over the Friday-to-Sunday period, according to final studio figures. That makes it the second largest bow in history trailing only Spider-Man which took in $114.8M over its three-day opening weeknd. Since its Wednesday launch, Shrek 2 has managed to collect an astounding $128.9M over five days.

The tentpole sequel set a new benchmark for ultrawide releases playing in a staggering 4,163 theaters this weekend. No film has ever broken the 4,000-theater threshold during its opening or subsequent weeks. Arriving early on in the summer allowed the studio to secure the widest distribution possible and set the bar sky high for high-profile summer megahits to come like Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban arriving June 4, and Spider-Man 2 swinging into multiplexes on June 30.

Shrek 2 easily set the record for debuts for animated films beating the $70.3M of Finding Nemo from just one year ago. Reuniting Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz, plus having glowing reviews across the board, was all that the public needed in order to line up for tickets this weekend. Family audiences made up 60% of the crowd meaning the film played broadly to teens and adults too. With the Memorial Day holiday weekend coming up, and children getting out of school soon, Shrek 2 should easily be able to blast through the $300M mark domestically.

Last weekend's mighty champion Troy, starring Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom, dropped 49% to $23.9M in its second weekend pushing its ten-day tally to $85.9M. Produced for $175M, the R-rated adventure looks to conquer $140-150M domestically and much more overseas.

Universal's monster saga Van Helsing dropped 49% in its third weekend and scared up $10.5M. After 17 days, the $160M-budgeted Stephen Sommers thriller has taken in $100.5M and is on its way to a final domestic haul of around $125M.

The high school comedy Mean Girls slipped 32% to fourth place with $6.9M lifting the cume to $64.7M. Fox's Man on Fire grossed $3.6M, off only 28%, and watched its total rise to $69.4M. In its second weekend, the Jamie Foxx comedy Breakin' All The Rules fell 44% to $2.8M for a ten-day tally of just $9M.

Sony stablemate 13 Going on 30 fell 39% to $2.5M taking seventh place and saw its sum climb to $52.1M. Plunging 66%, the Olsen twins comedy New York Minute collected $1.3M for a $12.6M cume. Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Vol.2 slipped 34% to $1.1M and boosted its tally to $62.7M.

Entering the top ten for the first time in the ten spot was indie sensation Super Size Me with $973,644 from 148 theaters for a solid $6,578 average. Distributed by Roadside Attractions and Samuel Goldwyn, the fast food documentary has grossed $2.9M from limited release and has an appetizing future ahead of it.

Opening in limited release, the all-star Bollywood action-drama Yuva opened with $210,000 from 30 theaters for a solid $7,000 average. The Mani Ratnam-directed film was released by Net Effect Media.

The top ten films grossed $161.8M which was up 12% from last year when Bruce Almighty opened at number one with $68M; and up 7.5% from 2002 when Star Wars Episode II stayed on top with $47.9M.

Compared to projections, Shrek 2 exceeded my $100M five-day forecast.

For reviews of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Shrek 2 and its soundtrack, and Yuva visit The Chief Report.

Be sure to check back on Thursday for a complete summary, including projections, for next weekend when The Day After Tomorrow and Raising Helen both open.

Marketplace: Shop for videos, DVDs, music, books, and posters at discounted prices using search engines

# Title May 21 - 23 May 14 - 16 % Chg. Theaters Weeks AVG Cumulative Distributor
1 Shrek 2 $ 108,037,878 4,163 1 $ 25,952 $ 128,983,060 DreamWorks
2 Troy 23,925,330 46,865,412 -48.9 3,411 2 7,014 85,960,779 Warner Bros.
3 Van Helsing 10,561,655 20,727,515 -49.0 3,418 3 3,090 100,526,335 Universal
4 Mean Girls 6,907,627 10,182,766 -32.2 3,054 4 2,262 64,706,896 Paramount
5 Man on Fire 3,680,522 5,101,128 -27.8 2,104 5 1,749 69,461,524 Fox
6 Breakin' All the Rules 2,845,368 5,088,577 -44.1 1,318 2 2,159 9,053,501 Sony
7 13 Going On 30 2,512,234 4,107,023 -38.8 2,028 5 1,239 52,080,216 Sony
8 New York Minute 1,302,152 3,814,307 -65.9 2,360 3 552 12,622,044 Warner Bros.
9 Kill Bill Vol.2 1,078,811 1,628,802 -33.8 854 6 1,263 62,711,658 Miramax
10 Super Size Me 973,644 759,182 28.2 148 3 6,579 2,941,709 Roadside / Goldwyn
11 Laws of Attraction 924,734 2,009,380 -54.0 1,010 4 916 16,849,742 New Line
12 Envy 604,606 1,042,949 -42.0 521 4 1,160 12,786,090 DreamWorks
13 A Day Without A Mexican 554,434 619,976 -10.6 103 2 5,383 1,400,441 Televisa Cine
14 Walking Tall 459,111 581,050 -21.0 689 8 666 45,138,529 MGM
15 Eternal Sunshine 342,428 413,483 -17.2 231 9 1,482 32,944,436 Focus
16 NASCAR 3D: The IMAX Experience 338,406 400,032 -15.4 72 11 4,700 11,602,237 Warner Bros.
17 Godsend 316,135 1,027,015 -69.2 419 4 754 13,994,861 Lions Gate
18 Johnson Family Vacation 303,175 617,226 -50.9 394 7 769 30,056,597 Fox Searchlight
19 The Passion of the Christ 271,424 500,606 -45.8 715 13 380 369,336,919 NewMarket
20 50 First Dates 231,731 53,337 334.5 237 15 978 119,861,977 Sony
Top 5 $ 153,113,012 $ 87,965,398 74.1
Top 10 161,825,221 100,567,859 60.9
Top 20 166,171,405 106,981,870 55.3
Top 20 vs. 2003 166,171,405 150,063,776 10.7

Last Updated : May 24, 2004 at 10:00PM EST

Gitesh Pandya can be seen each Friday on "The Biz" airing at 12:30pm and 9:30pm ET on CNNfn.