'Shrek' tops the box office ogre and ogre again
6/07/2010 01:15:00 AM
kenmouse
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Four new films entered the ring against Shrekat the box office this weekend. Each limped out, failing to dethrone the formidable ogre.Shrek Forever After claimed the top spot at the box office for a third consecutive weekend, a rarity for a summer film season that packs tent-pole films like planes on a tarmac.
Shrek raked in another $25.3 million, according to studio estimates from Hollywood.com. That brings the film's three-week total to $183 million and should propel Shrek past $200 million by next weekend.
Though the movie isn't a hit with critics — only about half of whom recommended the movie, according to RottenTomatoes.com —Shrek continues to dominate the vital family demographic.
"Over the years we learned adults love Shrek as much as the kids," says Anne Globe, head of worldwide marketing for DreamWorks Animation, which released the film. "I think people are telling their neighbors they need to see him one last time.
Considered the best hope of knocking off Shrek, the R-rated comedy Get Him to the Greek had a solid-if-unspectacular debut of $17.4 million. The debut was $2 million less than some had projected.
Executives at Universal, which released the film, said they expect the $40 million movie to play much like the studio's Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which opened to $17.7 million and went on to do $63 million.
The two films led another anemic weekend at the box office, where ticket sales slid 25% from the same weekend last year.
"To be honest with you, I don't know what's going on out there," says Nikki Rocco, Universal's distribution chief. "There's a general malaise out there. I'm not sure what turns it around."
Certainly not this crop of contenders. Killers, the comedy with Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl, opened to $16 million, reaching the low end of expectations.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time added $13.9 million to the till, lifting its total to $59.5 million. Sex and the City 2 rounded out the top five with a second-week showing of $12.7 million. The film has done $73.4 million in 10 days.
The other major newcomers hovered near the middle of the pack. The comic-strip adaptation Marmaduke was sixth with $11.3 million, while the well-reviewed horror movie Splice was eighth with $7.5 million.
Despite the recent drop in ticket sales, Bert Livingston of 20th Century Fox says the year is suffering more from unfair comparisons than an anemic start.
"Look at the movies that were opening around this time last year: The Hangover and Up," Livingston says. "You're not going to win that battle, and we've got a strong summer ahead."
Final figures are due Monday. Take a look top 10:
- Shrek Forever After - $25,300,000
- Get Him to the Greek - $17,423,000
- Killers - $16,100,000
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - $13,900,000
- Sex and the City 2 - $12,650,000
- Marmaduke - $11,300,000
- Iron Man 2 - $7,783,000
- Splice - $7,450,000
- Robin Hood - $5,133,000
- Letters to Juliet - $3,000,000
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