"Shrek 2" Wrecks DVD Record

The Incredibles had an incredible weekend to be sure, tallying $70.5 million at the box office, but in the end, Shrek got more green.

DreamWorks' Shrek 2 DVD, not so coincidentally released on Friday, the same day bitter rivals Disney and Pixar opened their new superhero 'toon theatrically, generated about $185 million over the weekend in combined DVD and VHS sales, the studio announced Monday.

DreamWorks says in its first three days on shelves, Shrek 2 moved a record 12.1 million combined DVD and video units, 11 million of which were DVDs.

The $185 million is more business than the sequel did when it set the record for highest-grossing opening weekend in theaters, with $108 million over its first three days last May. The figure also surpasses the original Shrek, which previously held the home video mark by selling 7 million copies and generating $110 million in revenue in its first three days in November 2001 (when it was released in stores the same time Disney-Pixar's Monsters, Inc. hit megaplexes).

Predictably, the folks at DreamWorks are acting like Christmas came early. "This record pace is reflective of the movie's broad appeal--everyone from kids, parents and general audiences are adding Shrek 2 to their DVD library," crowed Kelley Avery, worldwide head of DreamWorks Home Entertainment.

Avery added, "The Shrek 2 marketing campaign [is] now in full swing and an extensive effort [will continue] through the holidays."

The second Shrek, which opened on May 18 in theatres, already owns a place in the history books. Not only did the sequel outgross the original, but it is the biggest moneymaker of 2004, with a domestic take of more than $440 million--a mark that ranks it as the highestgrossing animated film of all time and the third-highest grossing film of all time. Numbers like that meant the DVD was going to be a sure stocking stuffer.

"DreamWorks should get to the 30 million mark based on box-office receipts alone," says Scott Hettrick, editor of DVD Exclusives.

Disney-Pixar's Finding Nemo, currently has DVD sales in the range of 22 million units and holds the current record. But, just as Shrek 2 topped Nemo at the box office, the ogre is likely to stomp out the fish when it comes to DVD sales.

Hettrick attributes the high first week sales in part to well-informed consumers. "I defy you to find anyone who wasn't aware that the release date for Shrek 2," he says.

DreamWorks spared no expense to promote the video, taking out billboard and magazine ads that rivaled most theatrical roll-outs. Of course, the studio needed to make a splash since it was going up against the even more heavily hyped release of The Incredibles. Hettrick says such promotion usually pays off, as 50 to 70 percent of sales come in the first week.

And while the DreamWorks swears (wink wink) that Shrek 2's Friday release date didn't try to undermine some of The Incredibles' glory, Hettrick says the move was the latest in long history of one-upsmanship between the studios since Jeffrey Katzenberg left the Mouse House and cofounded DreamWorks with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen. "It's just part of back and forth between the two," he says.

Shrek 2's boffo sales come at an opportune time for its home studio, since DreamWorks Animation SKG launched its IPO last week, and its stock price has been soaring. And both Shrek 2 and DreamWorks' other 'toon hit of 2004, Shark Tale, have been ruled eligible for the Best Animated Feature Oscar--a race that could once again pit The Incredibles against the not-so-jolly green giant.

But don't expect Shrek 2 to dominate the record books forever; DreamWorks has already given a green light to Shrek 3, due out in 2006, and Shrek 4.