Ananova:

Shrek 2 has broken box office records in the US, taking $11.8m (£6.7m) in one day.

It has scored the biggest midweek opening ever 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

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

The original film, which also competed at Cannes when it was released in 2001, 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.

The film is 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.