May 18-20, Weekend Box Office ... Shrek 3 takes no.1 spot from spidey

[Minnesota]

Shrek the Third stole the top spot from Spider-Man... yet the story of the day is that the web crawler still has the summer's biggest opening at 150 million. The horror movie 28 Weeks Later stuck around for a very impressive 3rd place, while Disturbia continues to remain anchored at the four spot. Rounding out the top is the R-rated Lindsay Lohan drama, Georgia Rule.

     
"Shrek the Third" breaks records in first weekend
Sunday May 20 1:36 PM ET

DreamWorks Animation SKG's "Shrek the Third" shattered the opening weekend record for an animated film, bringing in $122 million, exceeding expectations and chalking up the third-biggest opening of all time, the company said on Sunday.

The film, starring a lovable green ogre and his wise-cracking donkey friend, stole the No. 1 spot from "Spider-Man 3."

Analysts expected "Shrek the Third" to gross between $80 million and $110 million and some analysts had not expected the film to top the $108 million opening of "Shrek 2," which had been biggest first weekend for an animated film in box office history.

"We can't believe it. I'm thrilled," Ann Daly, DreamWorks chief operating officer, told Reuters.

Critics gave mixed reviews to "Shrek the Third" and its predecessor.

The record-breaking results also mark the best opening of all time for distributor Paramount Pictures film.

Sony Corp .'s "Spider-Man 3" slipped to the No. 2 spot this weekend with ticket sales of $28.5 million and "28 Weeks Later," from Fox Atomic fell one spot to No. 3 at $5.2 million.

"Spider-Man 3" retains its title for biggest-ever box office opening at $151.1 million, followed by "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" at $135.6 million.

Source: http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/news/va/20070520/117969337600.html

Weekend Box Office Estimates (U.S.)
May 18 - 20 weekend

This Wk 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Last Wk - 1 2 4 3 6 5 7 10 17 9 11

Title Shrek the Third Spider-Man 3 28 Weeks Later Disturbia Georgia Rule Fracture Delta Farce The Invisible Hot Fuzz Waitress Next Blades of Glory

Weekend Gross $122,000,000 $28,500,000 $5,150,000 $3,675,000 $3,493,000 $2,460,000 $1,840,000 $1,308,000 $1,255,000 $1,135,000 $1,131,000 $1,082,000

Cumulative $122,907,000 $281,858,000 $18,611,000 $71,323,000 $12,614,000 $34,712,000 $6,126,000 $17,661,000 $21,079,000 $2,176,000 $16,573,000 $115,437,000

Theaters 4122 4324 2305 2547 2531 1607 1931 1378 973 116 1008 812

Source: http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/boxoffice/