The final installment in the “Shrek” franchise opened where the first three installments did–at the top of the box-office. However, for the first time, the opening weekend results didn’t top the previous entry, according to USA Today.
The animated sequel took in $71.3 million this weekend. According to reports, 61% of the tickets sold were to 3-D theaters and 7% were for IMAX showings.
“There’s never been a fourth sequel to an animated movie, so it’s new territory for everybody,” says Anne Globe, head of worldwide marketing for DreamWorks Animation. “This is a great start.”
Still, she wasn’t above using a little nostalgia to coax moviegoers to the theaters. “This is your first chance to see Shrek in 3-D,” she says. “And your last chance to see him in the theater.”
Meanwhile, “Iron Man 2” continued an impressive run in second place with $26.2 million.
“Robin Hood” came in third with $18.7 million.
The last two spots of the top five were taken by the romantic comedies “Letters to Julia” and “Just Wright.”
I thought the movie was great, much, MUCH better than #3.
As far as 3D, I’m a little burned. I have no interest in spending an extra $3-$5 per ticket for 3D. It doesn’t add enough to the viewing experience to justify the expense; however, we looked at several theaters in our area and none of them had more than three or four inconveniently timed regular showings, so we ended up going to the 3D version just out of scheduling convenience. If we hand’t promised my 6-year-old that we’d go this weekend, I would have waited for a better time and avoided the 3D. Grrrr!
I also thought it was MUCH better than #3. Actually, I think this one is the 2nd best of the franchise, with only the original Shrek impressing me more. I loved the first one, thought the second one was decent, HATED the third, and was suitably impressed with #4. It definitely was better than 2 and 3, IMHO.