CINEMA

Shrek 2 brings $129 million in 5 days

LOS ANGELES -- Shrek 2 turned out to be even greener than expected. The sequel about a verdant ogre and his chatty sidekick Donkey collected $108 million US at the weekend box office, almost $4 million more than its studio, DreamWorks SKG, predicted Sunday, according to final figures released Monday afternoon. The computer-animated movie earned about $129 million Wednesday through Sunday for the highest five-day opening in Hollywood history, besting December's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which had $124.1 million. Shrek 2 had the second biggest three-day weekend debut, behind only 2002's Spider-Man with $114.8 million. It beat Spider-Man for the highest single-day gross. On Saturday, Shrek 2 earned $44.8 million, compared to the $43.6 million earned by Spider-Man on its first Saturday.

The top 20 movies at North American theatres Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theatre locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. and Nielsen EDI Inc.:

1. Shrek 2, DreamWorks, $108,037,878, 4,163 locations, $25,952 average, $128,983,060, one week. 2. Troy, Warner Bros., $23,925,330, 3,411 locations, $7,014 average, $85,960,779, two weeks. 3. Van Helsing, Universal, $10,561,655, 3,418 locations, $3,090 average, $100,526,335, three weeks. 4. Mean Girls, Paramount, $6,907,627, 3,054 locations, $2,262 average, $64,706,896, four weeks. 5. Man On Fire, Fox, $3,680,522, 2,104 locations, $1,749 average, $69,461,524, five weeks. 6. Breakin' All the Rules, Screen Gems, $2,845,368, 1,318 locations, $2,159 average, $9,053,501, two weeks. 7. 13 Going On 30, Sony, $2,512,234, 2,028 locations, $1,239 average, $52,080,216, five weeks. 8. New York Minute, Warner Bros., $1,302,152, 2,360 locations, $552 average, $12,622,044, three weeks. 9. Kill Bill Vol. 2, Miramax, $1,078,811, 854 locations, $1,263 average, $62,711,658, six weeks. 10. Super Size Me, Roadside, $973,644, 148 locations, $6,579 average, $2,941,708, three weeks. 11. Laws of Attraction, New Line, $924,734, 1,010 locations, $916 average, $16,849,742, four weeks. 12. Envy, DreamWorks, $604,606, 521 locations, $1,160 average, $12,181,484, four weeks. 13. A Day Without a Mexican, Telvisa Cine, $554,434, 103 locations, $5,383 average, $1,400,441, one week. 14. Walking Tall, MGM, $459,111, 689 locations, $666 average, $45,138,529, eight weeks. 15. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Focus Features, $342,428, 231 locations, $1,482 average, $32,944,436, 10 weeks. 16. Nascar: The Imax Experience, Warner Bros., $338,406, 72 locations, $4,700 average, $11,602,237, 11 weeks. 17. Godsend, Lions Gate, $316,135, 419 locations, $754 average, $13,994,861, four weeks. 18. Johnson Family Vacation, Fox Searchlight, $303,175, 394 locations, $769 average, $30,056,567, seven weeks. 19. The Passion of the Christ, Newmarket, $271,424, 715 locations, $380 average, $369,336,919, 13 weeks. 20. 50 First Dates, Sony, $231,731, 237 locations, $978 average, $119,861,977, 15 weeks. -Anthony brezsnican.