`Shrek 2' brings in the green at the box office

LOS ANGELES -- It's a humongous "happily ever after" for "Shrek 2."

The computer-animated fairy tale satire collected an estimated $104.3 million at the weekend box office, the second-biggest tally in history behind 2002's "Spider-Man," which took in $114.8 million.

"Shrek 2" also scored the biggest opening ever for an animated film, easily topping "Finding Nemo's" $70.2 million. "Shrek" earned $42.3 million in its first weekend in 2001 -- but went on to collect $267.6 million and win an Oscar.

For the sequel, the grumpy green ogre collected $28.4 million on Friday, and then jumped a remarkable 58 percent Saturday to earn $44.8 million, according to Jim Tharp, head of distribution for DreamWorks. Saturday's earnings broke Hollywood's overall record for highest one-day earnings, also held by "Spider-Man" with $43.6 million.

DreamWorks estimated the movie would earn an additional $31 million yesterday -- but even rival studios suggested the take would be higher than that. Final figures will be released today.

Last week's No. 1 film, "Troy," fell to second place in its second weekend, earning $23.8 million for a total of $85.8 million. Third-place "Van Helsing" crossed the $100 million mark with weekend earnings of $10.1 million, and "Mean Girls" ranked fourth with $6.9 million.