Discussion: Shrek 2 will never be beaten

[lilmac]

$441m initial run.

$579m adjusted run.

$600m+ 3D adjusted run.

 

Closest competitors in recent years (or the only other films to make $400m+ ever)

Toy Story 3, Pixar, years and years of goodwill and fan accumulation, superb reviews, finale = FAIL

Frozen, WDAS, comeback, princess, musical, phenomenon, cultural zeitgeist, hit song & OST = FAIL

 

Animation just does not have the pulling power for people (and there are a lot) who lump it into "kids films", simply because it is the main tool used in cartoon programming. Narrow-mindedness is a state of mind that is extremely difficult to break. Just ask...well, all of us are narrow-minded about something, quite unfortunately. American politics...another topic. World politics...another topic. Religion...HOLY...maybe impossible to discuss lol.

 

So, with this prefacing, anyone thinks Shrek 2 will fall?

 

What do you mean by $600m+ 3D adjusted run.?  How is it different from the adjusted gross?

[AniNate]

If DW do a re-release in 3D. Like Disney has been doing with their movies. It will be even higher.

 

Probably not by that much, though. Shrek 2 was very much a product of its time, and the lackluster sequels have diluted the franchise's shine. People have kind of gone back to embracing the sincere fairy tales these days.

Edited August 4, 2014 by tribefan695

[John Marston]

fuck Shrek. I always hated it. Even as a kid. 

[xSabrinax]

Probably not by that much, though. Shrek 2 was very much a product of its time, and the lackluster sequels have diluted the franchise's shine. People have kind of gone back to embracing the sincere fairy tales these days.

Shrek is declining as a franchise, I agree, but, 30m Shrek 2 should make, it's still an icon for adults,  just like ice age. 

Edited August 4, 2014 by xSabrinax

[CloneWars]

As far the Dory talks goes, I think Dory gets $350M which is actually really good despite what people on here may think. That would be the third highest grossing Pixar film unadjusted.

[FrozenUnicorn]

I don't think you should ever say something is not possible, there could be another animation revolution similar to CGI in the future and something beats Shrek 2.  Or we could have a box office admission boom for whatever reason.  Or one animation might simply strike gold with the audience and transcend perceived limits.  

 

We don't know, but I am going to assume one day something will beat Shrek 2 unadjusted.

 

Also remember this, The Lion King has technically already beaten Shrek 2 unadjusted.

The Lion King was also rereleased twice.

[TServo2049]

Adjusted, The Lion King's original run was already bigger than Shrek 2. (Though Disney did have the film pulled from theaters for two months between September-November to build up more demand.)Shrek 2 sold more tickets during the same amount of weeks as TLK's pre-moratorium (June-September) run, but much of the difference came from S2's huge first 2 weeks - its drops after that were always bigger than TLK's. On its last weekend in September before the prints were recalled, TLK sold almost 6x the tickets S2 sold on its equivalent weekend.

Edited August 4, 2014 by TServo2049

[BadAtGender]

The Lion King was also rereleased twice.

 

Even from the initial release, TLK is on top. It's estimated ticket sales is around 74m, Shrek 2 is around 71m.

[Mango]

Something will come along some day and beat it. Both adjusted and unadjusted. Right now I just think the animated market is way too cluttered. A couple of these companies are gonna have to die and certain companies (DreamWorks) are gonna have to cut back on the amount of material they are putting out in a fucking year. I mean think about it, Shrek 2 and TLK both came out in much less competitive markets. When you have a ton of films aiming at the exact same audience, the potential for each one falls a bit.

Edited August 4, 2014 by Mango

[Spidey Freak]

Frozen 2 or an Avengers-style Disney Princess Team-Up movie could do it.

[Mango]

Frozen 2 or an Avengers-style Disney Princess Team-Up movie could do it.

Frozen 2 could if it was a quality successor to the original. Remember that instant classic immediately have a tougher time producing sequels that live up.And no offense but that second idea is just wacko. I'm not targeting only you because several other people have brought up the concept various times in the past, but a Disney princess team up would be so absurd I feel it would never reach past the little girl market.I think its more likely to be something original that does it. One of Disney's upcoming films like Giants or Moana, maybe. The current Disney animation Renaissance along with the strength of coming off Frozen could really help the same way TLK did coming off of Aladdin.

[Spidey Freak]

Frozen 2 could if it was a quality successor to the original. Remember that instant classic immediately have a tougher time producing sequels that live up.And no offense but that second idea is just wacko. I'm not targeting only you because several other people have brought up the concept various times in the past, but a Disney princess team up would be so absurd I feel it would never reach past the little girl market.I think its more likely to be something original that does it. One of Disney's upcoming films like Giants or Moana, maybe. The current Disney animation Renaissance along with the strength of coming off Frozen could really help the same way TLK did coming off of Aladdin.

 

Wasn't Shrek pretty much an instant classic too though? Frozen had a bigger impact on pop culture. I think a more Elsa-focused Frozen sequel could bring Shrek 2 down, provided they don't entirely downplay the comedy aspect with Olaf and the sisterly bond with Anna.

 

I wasn't really serious about Disney Princess Avengers though. However, I wouldn't be too surprised if WDAS tries something epic to honor its legacy when it turns 100 in 2023. 

[peludo]

What do you mean by $600m+ 3D adjusted run.?  How is it different from the adjusted gross?

The 579 million figure is obtained with average ticket prices of every movie released in the market, 2D and 3D. If Shrek 2 had been in 3D, its tickets would have been more expensive, so the adjusted figure would be higher.

 

There is a good example right now in the all time adjusted list in BOM: Iron Man 3 did 409 million, but right now adjusts to 397. How is that possible if 2014 tickets are more expensive than in 2013? because IM3 tickets price were more expensive than 2014 tickets because of 3D. 3D bloat the grosses. You have to add a 5-10% to the adjusted gross (it depends on the 3D ratio) of a movie to know what would have done in 3D.

[lilmac]

The 579 million figure is obtained with average ticket prices of every movie released in the market, 2D and 3D. If Shrek 2 had been in 3D, its tickets would have been more expensive, so the adjusted figure would be higher.

 

There is a good example right now in the all time adjusted list in BOM: Iron Man 3 did 409 million, but right now adjusts to 397. How is that possible if 2014 tickets are more expensive than in 2013? because IM3 tickets price were more expensive than 2014 tickets because of 3D. 3D bloat the grosses. You have to add a 5-10% to the adjusted gross (it depends on the 3D ratio) of a movie to know what would have done in 3D.

Ah I see.  We are assuming it would have made $21 more million if 3D had been available.  Safe assumption.

[TServo2049]

BOM adjustments are based off of the avg of the quarter of release vs. the current year's average (which, if the year is currently in progress, is the average of the previous quarters). Since IM3 was released in Q2 '13 and Q2's average was $8.38, adjusting it to $8.15 brings it down. ALL films released in Q2 of a given year get adjusted down by BOM. AFAIK, it has nothing to do with which films were in 3D, except to the extent that nowadays, the Q2 average is always the most 3D-inflated of any year.

Edited August 5, 2014 by TServo2049

[The Panda]

The Lion King was also rereleased twice.

It's original run was still bigger.

[The Panda]

Wasn't Shrek pretty much an instant classic too though? Frozen had a bigger impact on pop culture. I think a more Elsa-focused Frozen sequel could bring Shrek 2 down, provided they don't entirely downplay the comedy aspect with Olaf and the sisterly bond with Anna.I wasn't really serious about Disney Princess Avengers though. However, I wouldn't be too surprised if WDAS tries something epic to honor its legacy when it turns 100 in 2023.

In 2023 WDAS does the crossover of all crossovers,Avengers and Guardians get sucked into a wormhole and end up in The Star Wars Galaxy.Iron Man v. Darth Vader

[Ethan Hunt]

In 2023 WDAS does the crossover of all crossovers,Avengers and Guardians get sucked into a wormhole and end up in The Star Wars Galaxy.Iron Man v. Darth Vader

That would either be really fun, or a massive pile of trash

[John Marston]

agreed with the amount of animated movies coming out now, I can't see Shrek 2 ever being beaten attendance wise. 

[Webslinger]

As with almost all box office records, it's just a matter of time until something beats it. Remember that The Lion King looked untouchable for a long time, but then two movies beat its total within a year of one another.

 

That being said, the fact that no animated movie has come closer than $27 million from Shrek 2's domestic total just goes to show what a staggering run it had. It was the third-highest grossing movie ever back in 2004, which was quite the insane thing to wrap your head around when you remembered that the original Shrek wasn't expected to be huge, let alone spawn a sequel that would place high in the record books of the time.