Shrek 2 was the best-selling video release of 2004 in the U.S. with a grand total of 37 million units sold, which included a whopping 21.6 million DVDs.  The original Shrek film, released in late 2001, has sold an estimated 47 million videos -- and the release of Shrek 2 spurred sales of 5.6 million copies of the original Shrek, making it the top backlist title of 2004.  Together the two Shrek films have generated an enormous $1.6 billion dollars in home video sales around the world.

In 2004 Shrek 2's mammoth total was shadowed closely by a number of other sequels including (in expected order of finish) The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Spider-Man 2.