The first Shrek movie competed at Cannes in 2001

It has scored the biggest midweek opening to date for an animated feature, beating the record set by Pokemon: The First Movie in 1999.

A spokesperson for Dreamworks, which made the film, said the opening "exceeded all of our expectations".

Shrek 2, which features the voices of Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz, is in competition at the Cannes Film Festival

Unprecedented

The film is also set to break another record in the US over the weekend, by being screened in 4,163 cinemas - making it the largest debut of all time.

"This is unprecedented - I've never seen a movie open in that many theatres," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations, which tracks cinema audiences in the US.

Dreamworks head of distribution Jim Tharp said they had had an increase in the number of screens available to show the film, meaning they were able to expand past the 4,000 mark.

The original film, which also competed at Cannes when it was released in 2001 and won best animated feature at the Oscars, made $267m (�151m) at the US box office and $455m (�258m) worldwide.

The sequel sees Myers and Diaz reprising their roles of the green ogre Shrek and his sweetheart, Princess Fiona.

Eddie Murphy, who supplied the voice of Shrek's sidekick Donkey, also returns, while cast newcomers include John Cleese, Jennifer Saunders and Antonio Banderas.

It is due to open in the UK on 2 July.