(May 19, 2001 - by digitalmediafx.com) On Friday, Shrek grossed an impressive $11.54 million on 3,587 screens throughout the nation, giving the movie an average take of $3,218 per screen. While the number is impressive, it doesn't come close to the Friday opening take of Toy Story 2, which made $22.6 million on November 26, 1999. Shrek did, however, beat Disney's Friday opening of Dinosaur last year (during the same time period). Dinosaur, on Friday, May 19, 2000, made $10.66 million on its way to a $38.8 million opening weekend.

DreamWorks has been conservative with its weekend estimates, predicting Shrek would bring in $25 - $30 million in its first weekend. Based on Friday's opening, the film is likely to bring in closer to $40 million. DreamWorks can also celebrate the fact that Shrek made twice as much in its Friday opening than last year's Chicken Run, which eventually became the highest grossing non-Disney animated film of all time.

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