“Shrek 2” Out-Ogres Original
Shrek 2 is a mean green money machine.
As of Thursday, the ogre-iffic sequel has officially raked in $271 million since opening May 19, propelling it past the $267.7 million domestic gross of its predecessor, 2001’s Shrek. If the big guy keeps up his pace, DreamWorks is betting the CGI flick will race past the $300 million mark this coming weekend and will ultimately have a shot at passing bitter rival Disney-Pixar’s Finding Nemo as the top-grossing ‘toon of all time with $340 million.
Already, Shrek 2 owns the records for widest opening weekend, highest grossing opening weekend for an animated film ($108 million), biggest five-day opening ($128.5 million), the all-time single-day ticket sales record ($44.8 million on May 22) and the biggest ever Memorial Day weekend ($95.6 million from last Friday to Monday).
With the dysfunctional fable follow-up ringing up boffo box office, DreamWorks has already given the green-light to not one, but two more sequels, a studio rep has confirmed.
DreamWorks is fast-tracking Shrek 3 and Shrek 4 and is expected to begin talks soon to secure the voice talents of Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy to reprise their roles for the follow-ups. Each scored a $5 million payday for Shrek 2, which was a substantial increase over the sum they made for the first Shrek, and they are expected to make even more on a third installment. Antonio Bandreas, who steals many a Shrek 2 scene as Puss-in-Boots, is also going to be invited back for the new sequels.
According to Daily Variety, the studio has tapped the writing duo of Peter Seaman and Jeffrey Price to fracture the next fairy-tale installment. The plot is expected to follow everyone’s favorite ogre as he embarks on a new quest and ends up having a run-in with King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.
Seaman and Price previously wrote the screenplay for Universal’s Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas and did some uncredited script doctoring on the studio’s Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat, which also starred Myers but bombed at the box office.
It’s likely that several of Shrek’s original scribes (a half-dozen screenwriters helped with the story) will also lend a hand in polishing the new editions. Additionally, DreamWorks has hired writer Jon Zack to act as a creative consultant.
If all goes as planned, expect Shrek 3 to hit theaters sometime around the 2006 holiday season.
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