From ew [excerpt], Who knew the appetite for Shrek would abate so significantly in just three years? Whereas Shrek the Third bowed to over $121 million back in summer 2007, Shrek Forever After, which boasted a slew of expensive 3-D screens, opened this weekend to just $71.2 million. (IMAX screens accounted for 7 percent of the total.) The PG-rated animated flick from Dreamworks Animation generated a solid A Cinemascore from audiences, which bodes well for the movie’s staying power, but the opening is still far beneath what the third and even second installment in the uber-successful franchise opened to. In fact, the only Shrek movie that opened weaker than Shrek Forever After was the original in 2001, a completely unique concept at the time that opened to $42 million.
The other new wide release of the frame was the Relativity Media financed R-rated comedy MacGruber. Unfortunately for this property, based on the Saturday Night Live skit, the concept was widely rejected by moviegoers. Earning only $4.1 million for the weekend and a C- from Cinemascore, MacGruber may find it challenging to earn back the meager $10 million it cost to make the film. From producer Lorne Michaels, and starring SNL castmates Will Forte and Kristen Wiig, MacGruber opened in sixth place.
The majority of the remaining top 10 films were holdovers, with both Iron Man 2 and Robin Hood dropping less than 50 percent for the weekend. Iron Man nabbed the second slot for its third weekend in theaters. The Robert Downey Jr. starrer grossed an additional $26.6 million to put its total cume at $251.2 million. Robin Hood fell 48 percent its second weekend in theaters. From director Ridley Scott, the PG-13 rated epic tale starring Russell Crowe grossed $18.7 million for a total two-week gross of $66.1 million. As expected, the film has outperformed internationally, where the total gross stands at $125 million.
