The North American box-office treasure is harder to come by as the summer blockbusters roll out, but Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End’s $142 million haul over four days still made it the best Memorial Day weekend opener of all time, beating last year’s X-Men: The Last Stand, which opened with $122 million.
The third installment in the Walt Disney Co. franchise, however, managed only $112.5 million from Friday to Sunday, well below last summer’s $135.6 million opening weekend for its predecessor, Dead Man’s Chest. Still, At World’s End had the fifth-biggest three-day opening ever. At World’s End also took in an additional $205.5 million internationally since it began rolling out overseas Wednesday, putting its worldwide total at $332 million, according to The Associated Press.
“Fifth-biggest opening of all time. There’s really nothing to complain about here,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers told AP. “These numbers tell us that people love to see these Pirates movies, regardless of reviews, regardless of any other factors.”
The other newcomer to the list, the psychological thriller Bug, starring Ashley Judd, opened in fourth place with $4.2 million.
The Top 12 movies took in $250.1 million over four days, up 7.91 percent from last year’s total of $231.8 million and the three day totals were up 13.03 percent from last weekend’s total of $173.5 million. The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: 20th Century Fox’s X-Men: The Last Stand, which opened at No. 1 with $122.8 million in 3,690 theaters, averaging $33,296 per theater; Sony’s The Da Vinci Code, which dropped to second place in its second week of release with $42.4 million in 3,754 theaters, averaging $11.305 per theater; and DreamWorks’ Over the Hedge, which dropped to third place in its second week with $35.3 million in 4,093 theaters, averaging $8,630 per theater. (Click here to read last year’s box office report).
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES: Four-Day Totals
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (Buena Vista, PG-13)
• Gross: $142 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 4,362
• Per-theater average: $32,554
• Cume to date: $156 million (opened Thursday night)
No. 2: Shrek the Third (DreamWorks, PG)
• Gross: $69 million (-56%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 4,172 (+50)
• Per-theater average: $16,559
• Cume to date: $219.4 million
No. 3: Spider-Man 3 (Sony, PG-13)
• Gross: $18 million (-51%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 3,723 (+72)
• Per-theater average: $4,835
• Cume to date: $307.6 million
No. 4: Bug (Buena Vista, R)
• Gross: $4.2 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,661
• Per-theater average: $2,529
No. 5: Waitress (Fox Searchlight, PG-13)
• Gross: $4 million (+187%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 510 (+394)
• Per-theater average: $7,843
• Cume to date: $6.5 million
No. 6: 28 Weeks Later (Fox Atomic, R)
• Gross: $3.3 million (-53%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,013 (-292)
• Per-theater average: $1,639
• Cume to date: $24.4 million
No. 7: Disturbia (Paramount, PG-13)
• Gross: $2.4 million (-49%)
• Weeks opened: 7
• Theaters: 1,632 (-915)
• Per-theater average: $1,473
• Cume to date: $74.9 million
No. 8: Georgia Rule (Universal, R)
• Gross: $2.3 million (-50%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 1,904 (-627)
• Per-theater average: $1,250
• Cume to date: $16.8 million
No. 9: Fracture (New Line, R)
• Gross: $1.6 million (-47%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 907 (-700)
• Per-theater average: $1,764
• Cume to date: $37.2 million
No. 10: Wild Hogs (Buena Vista, PG-13)
• Gross: $1.4 million (+159%)
• Weeks opened: 13
• Theaters: 426 (-86)
• Per-theater average: $3,380
• Cume to date: $163.2 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Paprika (Sony Picture Classics, R)
• Gross: $45,594
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2
• Per-theater average: $22,797
Angel-A (Sony Picture Classics, R)
• Gross: $37,730
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 7
• Per-theater average: $5,390
The Golden Door (Miramax, PG-13)
• Gross: $37,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2
• Per-theater average: $18,500
