Shrek 2 breaking records
(And driving more nails in 2D's coffin)
June 14, 2004

We all knew Shrek 2 was going to be huge. Sequels to breakout hits tend to hold a lot of box-office promise. And maybe you could have expected Shrek 2 to surpass Pixar's Finding Nemo as the No. 1 animated film of all time, but before DreamWorks' latest feature film is done, it could very well find itself sitting atop blockbusters such as Jurassic Park, The Passion of the Christ, , The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of the King and Spider-Man.

Shrek 2 is cleaning up in theaters and it doesn't look like any animated film is going to come close to topping it anytime soon. Sure, Pixar's The Incredibles is due out this November, but it's a new franchise that doesn't hold the reputation of the critically accliamed Shrek.

Take a look at some of the other records that the Shrek sequel—which has grossed $354 million—already shattered:

- Largest opening weekend for an animated film ($108 million), beating Finding Nemo by a cool $30 million.

- Largest five-day Wednesday opening ($129 million).

- Record-setting Memorial Day weekend gross ($95.6 million).

- Largest Saturday ($44.8 million) and Sunday ($35 million) single-day box-office gross.

- Fastest film to $300 million (18 days).

It's good for animation that Shrek 2 is not only trouncing its counterparts, but is also seen as a major threat to live-action films. Sadly, however, every time a computer-animated feature does big business, you know 2D dies a little bit more.

At a recent conference, Disney CEO Michael Eisner said "2D business is coming to an end, just like black and white came to an end."

Troubling words, indeed. We know studios are shuttering their traditional animation departments, but to hear the head of the standard bearer for 2D say that it's a dying cause has to hurt fans of the art form. Eisner didn't say that 2D is simply unpopular at the moment, or not feasible. He likened it to something that is outdated and won't return.

Chris Douvalas
Discuss this topic here.

about gallery forum links tutorials store Caricatures