Disney's Pearl Harbor topped the first weekend in June's box office derby with an estimated $30 million, while Shrek managed to come in a strong second with $28.4 million. In spite of bad reviews Pearl Harbor's take only declined about 50% from its big Memorial Day opening, and audience reaction remained positive to the three-hour epic. Pearl Harbor has now reached $119 million, making it the fifth film to go over $100 million this year. However, many experts expect that Shrek, which declined only 33% from its Memorial Day take, will overtake Pearl Harbor next weekend. Today Shrek passed the $150 million dollar barrier, the fastest animated film to ever reach that goal. Shrek is currently outpacing the animated box office champion--The Lion King--and is on a pace to garner close to $300 million before its summer run is over.
Rob Schneider's The Animal was the top new film of the weekend with $19.8 million in sales, while Moulin Rouge, which demonstrated a strong appeal to women gathered in $14.2 million. The overall total for the weekend was up a very strong 28% from a year ago.
