Shrek (Mike Myers), Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas) and Donkey (Eddie Murphy), are on a hero's quest to find a new king for Far Far Away, as long as that king does not turn out to be Shrek. The trail leads them to visit with Fiona's (Cameron Diaz) 16-year-old underachiever cousin, Artie (Justin Timberlake), otherwise known as Arthur Pendragon, a student at a Medieval High School. - Reuters

(AP):

IT IS not easy being green, even if you're an ogre. Shrek the Third opened to good business last Thursday, but its studio declined to predict Saturday whether it would break the opening weekend record for an animated film set by Shrek 2 three years ago.

Shrek the Third grossed US$900,000 in opening on 1,000 screens nationwide last Thursday and sold US$38.1 million worth of tickets in wide release on Friday, said Ann Daly, chief operating officer of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.

"Even some of the midnight shows were just playing great," she said.

The movie attracted not only families with kids, but teens and older adults.

"You're really playing to the entire movie-going population," Daly said.

In 2004, Shrek 2 set a record for best animated debut with a US$108 million weekend. Its main competition was the ancient Greek action film Troy, starring Brad Pitt.

Shrek the Third has tougher rivals for the audience dollar.

Like its bulky hero, the movie is uncomfortably corseted, opening in between Spider-Man 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, which comes out over Memorial Day weekend.

"We'll be thrilled" if Shrek the Third matches the success of Shrek 2," Daly said.

"We still have to sit tight and see what happens over Memorial Day weekend," she said.