THE HYPE THE GREENING OF HOLLYWOOD `SHREK' DVD AND `MONSTERS, INC.' GO HEAD TO HEAD IN THE BATTLE FOR MOVIE DOLLARS.

Byline: - Fred Shuster

It's the big green guy vs. the smiling cyclops and in the very first round, the winner is lurking behind the counter of your local video store.

That's because in its first three days of release, ``Shrek'' beat box-office receipts for ``Monsters, Inc.'' during the same weekend to become the fastest-selling DVD of all time.

Although it's way too early to tell which title will ultimately rake in the most dough, the good-natured ogre seems more animated than usual this week.

Last Friday through Sunday, ``Shrek'' guzzled an estimated $110 million in VHS and DVD sales while ``Monsters,'' breaking opening-weekend records for animation, munched through $62.6 million.

``Shrek's'' gigantic payday was partly a result of DreamWorks Home Entertainment's huge marketing campaign, the largest in the company's history, which involved lower pricing, an instant-win game where every purchase included prizes ranging from ice-cream cones to Game Boys to mini-vans and promotional partners of the size and reach of Burger King.

``A No. 1 title like 'Shrek' has tremendous broad appeal and it was the one title that lent itself to creating such an event,'' said Kelley Avery, head of Worldwide Home Entertainment at DreamWorks.

``Shrek,'' incidentally, was released to stores last Friday, a day that coincided with the opening of ``Monsters'' in theaters. Videos are normally released, like record albums, on Tuesdays.

Avery called it ``a coincidence,'' adding that the theatrical and video businesses are very different creatures.

``This was the right time period for our movie,'' she said. ``It was an open window for us in terms of competing videos. And Friday is the day when consumers are looking to own and rent a film.''

As a result, around 2.5 million double-disc ``Shrek'' DVDs at $20 each were purchased, along with 4.5 million VHS tapes at $15.95 per unit.

Meanwhile, Walt Disney Co./Pixar's acclaimed ``Monsters'' set the opening-weekend theatrical record for an animated feature. When ``Shrek'' opened on screens from coast to coast last May, it snagged a weekend tally of $42.3 million.

Next, a short but mighty golden guy named Oscar joins the fray. In March, the movie academy hands out its first trophy for Best Animated Feature. Both ``Shrek'' and ``Monsters'' met the deadline for entry and will compete for nomination alongside at least 10 other titles.

Adding to ``Shrek's'' attraction for home viewers, DreamWorks created a new longer ending for the DVD and VHS. The DVD version includes more than 11 hours of material, with 15 minutes of all-new animation including interactive menus created by the film's directors.

Just two weeks away is the highly anticipated release of ``Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas,'' due Nov. 20.

RESPECT HIS AUTHORI-TAY!: Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the co-creators of ``South Park,'' are at it again. Tonight's new episode on Comedy Central (10 p.m.) has Cartman (he's the foul-mouthed fat one) going toe-to-toe with Osama bin Laden.

Comedy Central describes the story this way: Filled with the American spirit, the South Park kids have sent their dollars to the children of Afghanistan. When Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman receive a package back, every government agency descends to investigate. The mysterious contents of the box lead the boys to Afghanistan, where Cartman squares off against Osama bin Laden.

The episode is called ``Osama bin Laden Has Farty Pants.''

Hey, we didn't make this up.

- Rob Lowman

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) no caption (Shrek)

(2 -- color) no caption (One-eyed monster from ``Monsters, Inc.'')