14 DAY TRIAL // Though it got off to a very questionable start, especially given the precedent set by the other “Shrek” movies, and debuted to less than favorable reviews, “Shrek Forever After” managed to secure the first position in the US box office over the weekend. Followed by “SATC 2” and “Prince of Persia,” “Shrek” won more by default though than by a merit of his own, Box Office Mojo says.
This was the lowest Memorial Day weekends for cinematography in nine years, so “Shrek” came out on top not because it had spectacular grossing, but rather because the other competitors had very poor ticket sales. This was the second weekend for the final installment in the franchise, and it marked a steep fall of almost 40 percent from the opening weekend, to $43.3 million. “SATC 2” continued to lure female moviegoers, securing an estimated $32.1 million, while “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” did the same for young men, with ticket sales of $30.2 million.
“This Memorial Day weekend is shaping up to be the lowest-grossing in nine years and the slowest in at least 15 years in terms of estimated attendance. Overall business was down around 20 percent from the same period last year. The simple reason for these doldrums is the movies themselves: an indifference-inspiring brew of tepid holdovers and non-event new releases. Shrek Forever After won the weekend by default, not because it exhibited any particular strength. The animated sequel grossed an estimated $43.3 million Friday-to-Sunday, off 39 percent from its opening weekend. While that was a better hold than Shrek the Third, which fell 56 percent, it was a steeper drop than Shrek 2 (down 33 percent) and the first Shrek (which didn’t drop),” the movie publication says.
“Ranking fourth for the weekend, Iron Man 2 pulled in an estimated $16 million, decreasing 39 percent. It again delivered worse numbers than the first Iron Man, which made $20.4 million on the same weekend in 2008 and was down 36 percent. Iron Man 2, though, has a higher cumulative gross of $274.6 million in 24 days versus the first movie’s $252.6 million through the same point. Robin Hood retreated 45 percent to an estimated $10.3 million, lifting its total to $83 million in 17 days. While not terribly exciting as summer movies go, that’s solid for the Medieval Times: it’s now the second highest-grossing picture of the sub-genre behind Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and it has summarily trumped the final estimated attendance figures of past titles like King Arthur and Kingdom of Heaven,” the e-zine further informs.
Romantic movie “Letters to Juliet” also fell by over 30 percent, making over the weekend an estimated $5.9 million, totaling $36.6 million over 17 days.