HOLLYWOOD - Tornados, floods and hail the size of toasters couldn't stop one jolly green ogre from taking the top spot this Memorial Day weekend--the highest grossing in history. With a whopping four-day total of $92.2 million, DreamWorks' animated comedy Shrek 2 reigned at the box office for the second week, surpassing the global-warming disaster flick The Day After Tomorrow, which debuted at $86 million.
Bolstered by Shrek 2, this year's top 12 films grossed $233.5 million, making it the No. 1 Memorial Day weekend ever, beating 1997's record, which saw The Lost World: Jurassic Park open with a four-day total of $90.1 million.
Don't feel too sorry for Day After Tomorrow, though; it still managed to become the second best Memorial Day opener of all time, right behind The Lost World: Jurassic Park and besting last year's Bruce Almighty, which premiered with $85.7 million.
Other newcomers to this week's top 10 include the tear-jerker Raising Helen, starring Kate Hudson, which debuted in fourth place with $14 million, and the raucous comedy Soul Plane, which opened in the fifth spot with $7 million.
With the healthy chunk of change from the top 12 films this week, box office numbers were up 20.66 percent from Memorial Day weekend last year, when they totaled $193.4 million.
The top three last year included: Universal's PG-13 rated Bruce Almighty, which opened with a heavenly $85.7 million in 3,483 theaters, averaging $24,615 per theater; The Matrix Reloaded, in second in its second week with $45.6 million in 3,603 theaters, averaging $12,659 per theater; and Sony Pictures' PG rated comedy Daddy Day Care, which fell to third place in its third week with $18.1 million at 3,472 theaters with a $5,217 per theater average.
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES: Memorial Day Weekend Four-Day Totals (Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Shrek 2 (Dreamworks, PG)
• Gross: $92.2 million (-33%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 4,223 (+60)
• Per-theater average: $21,833
• Cume to date: $257 million
No. 2: The Day After Tomorrow (20th Century Fox, PG)
• Gross: $86 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,425
• Per-theater average: $25,109
No. 3: Troy (Warner Bros., R)
• Gross: $15 million (-50%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,411 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $4,400
• Cume to date: $109.6 million
No. 4: Raising Helen (Buena Vista, PG-13)
• Gross: $14 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,717
• Per-theater average: $5,162
No. 5: Soul Plane (MGM, R)
• Gross: $7 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,566
• Per-theater average: $4,470
No. 6: Mean Girls (Paramount Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $6.3 million (-30%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 2,618 (-436)
• Per-theater average: $2,259
• Cume to date: $73.5 million
No. 7: Van Helsing (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $6.2 million (-54%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 2,891 (-527)
• Per-theater average: $2,145
• Cume to date: $100.1 million
No. 8: Man on Fire (20th Century Fox, R)
• Gross: $1.9 million (-48%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 1,426 (-678)
• Per-theater average: $1,701
• Cume to date: $73.3 million
No. 9: 13 Going on 30 (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $1.1 million (-56%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 1,164 (-864)
• Per-theater average: $1,203
• Cume to date: $54.5 million
No. 10: Super Size Me (IDP Films/Roadside Attractions, NR)
• Gross: $1 million (+9%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 197 (+49)
• Per-theater average: $6,873
• Cume to date: $4.8 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Saved! (United Artists, PG-13)
• Gross: $440,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 20
• Per-theater average: $22,000
Baadassss! (Sony Pictures Classics, R)
• Gross: $57,929
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 13
• Per-theater average: $4,456