Shrek Forever After Tops U.S. Box Office

DreamWorks Animation's SHREK FOREVER AFTER conjures up a #1 showing at the U.S. box office for the weekend of May 21-23, 2010.

DreamWorks Animation's SHREK FOREVER AFTER conjures up a #1 showing at the U.S. box office for the weekend of May 21-23, 2010. In its debut weekend, the SHREK final chapter earned $71.3 million. Compared to the previous SHREK sequels the opening was a disappointment. SHREK THE THIRD debuted with $121.6 million and SHREK 2 with $108 million.

The box office champ for the past two weeks, IRON MAN 2, landed in second with another $26.6 million. With visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic, Double Negative, Hydraulx, Centroid Motion Capture, The Embassy Visual Effects, Evil Eye Pictures, Fuel International, Legacy Effects, Lola Visual Effects, Pixel Liberation Front, Pixomondo, Prologue Films, Svengali Visual Effects, The Third Floor and Trixter Film, the Marvel adaptation has collected $251.3 million thus far.

ROBIN HOOD dropped to third with an additional $18.7 million. With vfx from The Moving Picture Company (MPC), Lola Visual Effects, Centroid Motion Capture, FB-FX, Hammerhead Productions and Plowman Craven & Associate, the Ridley Scott film has made $66.1 million.

Romantic tales came in at fourth and fifth. First was Summit Ent.'s LETTERS TO JULIET with $9.1 million and a cume of $27.4 million followed by Fox Searchlight's JUST WRIGHT with $4.22 million and a cume of $14.6 million.

MACGRUBER fizzled in its debut weekend, earning only $4.1 million in sixth. Gradient Effects and Great FX provide vfx for the SNL-based feature.

DATE NIGHT held strong in seventh with $2.83 million. Fox's action comedy has collected $90.7 million thus far.

At #8, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (vfx from Method Studios) slashed an additional $2.29 million. The horror remake has dreamt up $59.9 million in total.

DreamWorks Animation's hit HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON tumbled to ninth taking in an additional $1.85 million, making its cume $210.9 million.

Closing out the top 10, in its debut, the Indian production KITES (with vfx from Redchillies VFX) earned $1.85 million.

Box office numbers obtained at boxofficemojo.com.