We all knew The Lorax was going to be number one, and a big number one at that.  But most box office watchers were expecting the animated film to land somewhere between $49 and $59 million on its first weekend – making it easily the biggest debut of 2012.  Instead, the adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ classic has earned an estimated $70.7 million from 3,927 locations.  Not only is that the third-highest March debut ever, it also stands as the biggest animated feature debut since Toy Story 3.  In other words, this is huge.

When DreamWorks SKG was formed, former Disney Animation guru Jeffery Katzenberg was intent on making animated films at his newly created movie studio. By 2000, the studio already had two animated films under their belt (Antz and The Prince of Egypt) and their focus was on 2D animation. While Katzenberg was determined to re-capture the 2D animation magic he enjoyed while at Disney, a handful of animators were working on the “ugly duckling” film of the studio: a weird little picture called Shrek. Fast-forward to the critical and financial disaster that was The Road to El Dorado in the midst of Pixar’s wild success with 3D animated films, and everyone’s attention focused on the only 3D film the studio had in the pipeline, Shrek.

What began as a laborious project, on which animators were sent to work as punishment, suddenly became the studio’s saving grace.  Witty, edgy, and ballsy as hell, Shrek was the anti-Disney film; a giant middle finger from Jeffery Katzenberg to those at Disney that had ousted him so suddenly. An instant smash-hit, the film spawned the studio’s first franchise and a merchandising cash-cow. Now, Shrek, Shrek 2, Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After are available together on Blu-ray for the first time. My review of the Shrek: The Whole Story box set after the jump.

Shrek. So thoroughly has the character permeated pop culture and zeitgeist – that no context or explanation is needed with the word. It has an almost pavlovian response on the listener. I say Shrek and images of a green ogre, pop culture references, sight gags, Eddie Murphy and a soon-to-be-eaten ginger bread man pop to mind. This can perhaps be attributed to the character’s ubiquitous nature – from the films to lunch boxes to Halloween costumes to ABC specials to commercial tie ins to action figures, Shrek quite simply is everywhere. DreamWorks will further propel its plan for Shrek domination by releasing all four films in a box set for the very first time December 7th, just in time for the Christmas season. In anticipation of the release of the new digitally remastered Blu-ray, an informal Q&A and discussion was held with the some of the principle visual and audio technicians on the upcoming Shrek box set at DreamWorks headquarters in Los Angeles.  Hit the jump for more:

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the fifteen animated feature films that have been accepted for consideration in the Animated Feature Film category at the 83^rd Academy Awards.  The list includes the obvious blockbusters such as Toy Story 3, How to Train Your Dragon, and Shrek Forever After, as well as less traditional but no less critically praised fair such as My Dog Tulip, Summer Wars, and the French film The Illusionist.

Under Academy rules, any year in which 8 to 15 animated features are released, a maximum of 3 motion pictures may be nominated. If 16 or more animated features are submitted and accepted in the category, a maximum of 5 motion pictures may be nominated. Since the Academy only deemed 15 animated feature films from this year worthy of being considered, there will only be 3 nominations in the Best Animated Feature Film category at the Oscars in February.  However, films submitted in the Animated Film category are also eligible for Academy Awards in other categories, such as Best Picture, so fear not Toy Story 3 fans, it’s still got a shot at the top prize. Hit the jump to check out the full list of films under consideration, as well as speculation as to which three films are most likely to be nominated.

Hollywood finally got some box office results worth celebrating as all three of this weekend’s major new releases performed at or above industry projections. The combined grosses of Megamind, Due Date and For Colored Girls made this the most lucrative early November frame since 2003 and promises studios glad tidings for the 2010 holiday season to come.

Inception continued to dominate the box office in its second weekend, earning an estimated $43.5 million from its 3,792 locations. That is a loss of only 31% over last weekend; an amazing hold attributable to the great word of mouth and repeat business Inception is inspiring. Angelina Jolie’s spy-thriller Salt placed second with an estimated $36.5 million, making this, arguably, the first week of the summer when two adult-skewing features have led the domestic box office.

Pixar’s Toy Story 3 posted another big number this weekend, with an estimated $59 million earned from its 4,028 locations. As expected, Grown Ups placed second with $41 million – right in line with previous entries in the Adam Sandler oeuvre – while Knight & Day placed a distant third. Also, as expected.

The reign of the weak box office came to an end this weekend with the debut of two much-hyped 1980s reboots: The Karate Kid and The A-Team. Early projections had the two titles in a tight race but, instead, the kid easily fly-kicked his way into first place with more than double what the team took in.

Audiences gave another, giant “meh” to Hollywood’s crop of new releases this weekend; making this the second week in a row to see box office grosses fall significantly over the same period last year. That means that, almost by default, Shrek Forever After takes top honors with another decent hold of approximately 59% over last weekend.

After last weekend wrapped up one of the lowest-grossing Mays of the past decade, the 2010 summer box office season limped its way into June yesterday with four decidedly uninspiring debuts. Making the biggest impact was Get Him to the Greek from the Apatow clan. The R-rated comedy launched to an estimated $6.1 million from 2,696 locations, second only to the third week of Shrek Forever After…  Yes, it is exactly that bad. The Katherine Heigl/Ashton Kutcher spy-comedy Killers was third, earning $5.7 million and edging out the sophomore sessions of Sex & the City 2 and Prince of Persia. Meanwhile, the estimated $3.4 million earned by Fox’s Marmaduke was only good enough for sixth place while the creature effects of Splice took number seven with an estimated $2.6 million. Full details on an epically lackluster weekend when you check back here tomorrow.

Over the four-day Memorial Day weekend, two worthy opponents challenged reigning box office champion Shrek Forever After, but neither Sex and the City 2 nor Prince of Persia: Sands of Time were able to conquer America’s favorite ogre.  The Shrek franchise is not as dominant as it once was, but the brand is still strong enough to ensure two straight weekends on top with a strong hold from last weekend’s opening.  The girls of Sex and the City were runners up on Sunday, but Prince moved in to second place by the end of Monday.  In fact, with less than a $1 million difference between the four-day totals, the order of the top five may not be finalized until tomorrow.  Details after the jump.

If the screening for MacGruber wasn’t held at 9pm on Thursday night, I would have had time to write a review and it would have been a positive one.  As it is, my thoughts on the film are in the latest installment of our continuing podcast, Running Dialogue.  In this episode, Curt Holman of Creative Loafing [Atlanta] and Russ Fischer of /Film and I, give our take on MacGruber, expand the conversation to SNL movies in general, and then Curt wraps it up with his take on Shrek Forever After with Russ and I explaining why we skipped that movie entirely.

Click here to take a listen.  As always, please leave your thoughts in the comments section.

In its debut weekend Shrek Forever After (or “Shrek the Final Chapter” depending on who you ask) pulled in an estimated $71.2 million. That is the best opening for an animated feature this year and the third best for 2010 overall. Unfortunately, when compared to the last two entries in the franchise, Shrek’s Final Chapter isn’t much of a read.

The fourth, and presumably final, installment in Dreamworks Animation’s crazy-profitable Shrek franchise muscled its way into 4,359 theatres on Friday – the widest release ever for an animated feature. That total includes approximately 2,373 3D sites but, so far, Shrek 4 doesn’t seem to be benefitting much from the added dimension… or its weightier ticket price. On its first day out, Shrek Forever After earned an estimated $20.7 million. That means that the weekend gross for the ogre and his ilk is likely to be far below that of 2007’s Shrek the Third. Meanwhile, Iron Man 2 took a 57% hit over last Friday’s figure – about equal to the percentage decline Robin Hood faced entering its second weekend. Which brings us to MacGruber. In its big screen debut the SNL skit turned… longer, debuted with a disheartening $1.6 million. Where is Betty White when you need her? Full details and the weekend numbers when you check back tomorrow.

While ticket prices have been inching up over the past few months, movie theaters in New York City are about to push it even further as the AMC theater in Manhattan’s Kips Bay neighborhood, AMC Loews 34, AMC Loews Lincoln Square and the AMC Empire 42nd Street are all going to charge $20 dollars a ticket for Shrek Forever After in IMAX 3D this weekend.

Granted, recent showtimes for DreamWorks How to Train Your Dragon were $19.50 at some of the same theaters, but that was below the $20 psychological barrier.  That .50 cents really makes a difference.  More after the jump: