Shrek shreds Hollywood takings record

Shrek 2 has turned out to be even greener than expected.

The film sequel about the grumpy ogre and his chatty sidekick Donkey collected €94m at the weekend box office in the US, almost €3.4m more than its studio, DreamWorks SKG, predicted.

The computer-animated movie earned about €119.5m between Wednesday and Sunday for the highest five-day opening in Hollywood history, beating December’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which had €109m.

Shrek 2 had the second-biggest three-day weekend debut, behind only 2002’s Spider-Man with €100m .

It beat Spider-Man for the highest single-day gross. On Saturday, Shrek 2 earned €38.8m, compared to the €37m earned by Spider-Man on its first Saturday.