Who will take the Memorial Day Box Office Crown???

Shrek the Third

or

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Pirates 3 definately, people will want to see the outcome since the last one said to be continued, lol.

I too think Pirates 3 will win.

In a late decision by Disney (DIS) to premiere "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" on Thursday, the company brought in a $17 million windfall from its initial screenings. Included with the $17 million figure was about $3 million brought in by midnight showings.

According to Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers, "Pirates" has already broken the early premiere numbers, becoming No. 1 in the category. Another record it's about to set is the number of screens it will debut on with 4,362 awaiting its Friday showing.

For the Thursday screening, there were around 3,000 theaters that participated with 8 p.m. showings.

With the international markets, the film ended up grossing $12.1 million across 13 countries on Wednesday, with another $29 million coming from 39 countries on Thursday.

"This number tells us that people have a tremendous interest in this movie, regardless of the running time, regardless of any reviews," Dergarabedian said.

Some had been wondering with the almost 3-hour running time if theaters would be able to run enough showings to challenge the records.

The show which stars Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley has received poor reviews, which from past results, like Spider-Man 3, shows reviewers aren't tuned in to the regular theater-going consumer. The film itself will speak to whether people come around a second or third time to see it in the theaters.

I saw it. (Pirates) Very, very good. I highly recommend it!

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, the third film in the Walt Disney Co.'s multibillion-dollar franchise, took in $58 million at worldwide box offices in limited showings before its wider record-breaking release on Friday, Disney said.

The film, starring Johnny Depp as the woozy pirate Captain Jack Sparrow, nearly sold out late-night showings at U.S. cinemas on Thursday night for a total of $17 million.

Overseas, Wednesday and Thursday night showings scored $41.1 million, Disney said.

The film was released in 52 countries and territories in addition to the United States and that release widened to 102 countries on Friday.

At World's End will be opening in a record 4,362 North American theatres, about 110 more than Spider-Man 3 and about 200 more than DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.'s Shrek the Third, which set an opening-weekend record last week for an animated film at $122 million. The figures come from Media by Numbers, a box office tracking firm.

Mark Zoradi, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures marketing and Distribution, said U.S. exit surveys "gave the film among the highest numbers in Disney's history and placed it well above comparable scores" for the first two Pirates films.

I saw it. (Pirates) Very, very good. I highly recommend it!
I agree. It was Very well done.

Pirates gets my vote.

i love it was awsome

It will break the biggest opening Memorial Day weekend record, but the third "Pirates" sadly seems to have scored the silver in this month of record breaking openings falling far short of not just Spidey 3's $150m opening, but the first Pirate sequel's $135m opening haul.

Reports coming in indicate the film will settle with a $126.5 million take (incl. $14m from Thursday night previews) for the first three days of the holiday weekend, making it the fifth highest opening weekend of any film in history - and easily topping last year's $102 million haul by action sequel "X-Men: The Last Stand".

Yet in the past few weeks, which has seen records dropping like flies thanks to "Spider-Man 3" & "Shrek the Third", the number seems the smallest bit deflating. Disney execs from the get go seem assured they wouldn't break Spider-Man 3's haul, but there was hope that the first three days of business would top "Dead Man's Chest". It didn't, and so headlines won't be made sadly.

'Pirates' longevity remains in question as well. The film was the most critically maligned of the three, scoring a 47% approval rating & 5.7/10 average score amongst critics over at Rotten Tomatoes (79% and 7.1/10 for 'Pearl,' 54% and 6/10 for 'Chest'). At Metacritic, 'End' scored a 52% metascore & 5.7/10 user rating (64% and 8.9/10 for 'Pearl,' 53% and 6.6/10 for 'Chest').

Nevertheless business is booming not just for the Mouse House, but the other two big juggernauts of the month. After 24 days "Spider-Man 3" just passed $300 million, after 10 days "Shrek the Third" passed $200 million. Newcomer "Bug" washed out with a mere $3.3 million in fourth place.

All others fell along expectations bar nearly four-month old comedy "Wild Hogs" seeing a surprise 158.6% jump in business from last week despite losing screens. The John Travolta-led road movie has earned a stellar $162.9 million in its theatrical run so far.

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End $112,547,000
2. Shrek the Third $51,042,000
3. Spider-Man 3 $13,700,000

'Pirates' Nabs 112.5M, Missing Record

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Box-office treasure is a little harder to come by on the new voyage of "Pirates of the Caribbean." The third installment in the Walt Disney Co. franchise, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," hauled in $112.5 million from Friday to Sunday, well below last summer's $135.6 million opening weekend for its predecessor, "Dead Man's Chest."

"At World's End" had the fifth-biggest three-day opening ever, with this month's "Spider-Man 3" ($151.1 million) and "Shrek the Third" ($121.6 million) both outperforming it.

Adding in $14 million from Thursday night preview screenings, "At World's End" had taken in $126.5 million domestically, according to studio estimates Sunday. The Thursday night screenings skewed the weekend figures for "At World's End," which likely would have done much of that business on Friday without those previews.

"At World's End" took in an additional $205.5 million internationally since it began rolling out overseas Wednesday, putting its worldwide total at $332 million.

Though it missed out on key box-office records, "At World's End" is on course to surpass last year's "X-Men: The Last Stand," which had the best four-day Memorial Day weekend debut with $122.9 million.

"We will go flying by that," said Chuck Viane, Disney head of distribution.

After 2003's acclaimed "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," reviews were mixed at best for both sequels.

Critics found the second and third movies more akin to the Disney theme-park attraction on which the franchise is based, cinematic thrill rides whose huge visual set pieces supplanted much of the charm of the first film, which earned Johnny Depp an Academy Award nomination as boozy buccaneer Jack Sparrow.

Released just 10 months after "Dead Man's Chest," the new movie picks up from that cliffhanger as Sparrow's friends and foes (Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom and Geoffrey Rush) set sail to rescue him from Davy Jones' locker.

It remains to be seen how well "At World's End" will measure up in the long run to "Curse of the Black Pearl," which topped out at $305 million, and "Dead Man's Chest," last year's biggest hit with $423 million.

"Fifth-biggest opening of all time. There's really nothing to complain about here," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "These numbers tell us that people love to see these 'Pirates' movies, regardless of reviews, regardless of any other factors."

With a big first weekend behind it, "At World's End" appears positioned to avoid the fate of some third installments such as "Jurassic Park III" and "The Matrix Revolutions," whose returns fell far short of their predecessors.

The new "Pirates" poached the box-office crown from DreamWorks Animation's "Shrek the Third," whose No. 1 debut a week earlier was a record opening for an animated film. "Shrek the Third" slipped to second place with $51 million, pushing its domestic total just beyond $200 million.

With $13.7 million, Sony's "Spider-Man 3" came in third, raising its domestic take to $303.3 million. Worldwide, "Spider-Man 3" has topped $800 million.

"At World's End" was hindered by a running time of two hours, 47 minutes, limiting the number of screenings theaters could schedule. "Dead Man's Chest" was about 15 minutes shorter and "Spider-Man 3" was nearly a half-hour shorter.

But "At World's End" made up for that by playing in more theaters, an all-time high of 4,362, 110 more than "Spider-Man 3," the previous record-holder.
Weekend Box Office Estimates (U.S.)
This Wk Last Wk Title Dist. Weekend Gross Cumulative
Gross Rlse
Wks # of
Theaters
1 - Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Buena Vista Pictures Distribution $112,547,000 $126,547,000 1 4362
2 1 Shrek the Third Paramount Pictures $51,042,000 $201,380,000 2 4172
3 2 Spider-Man 3 Sony Pictures Releasing, Sony Pictures Releasing International $13,700,000 $303,342,000 4 3723
4 - Bug Lionsgate $3,260,000 $3,260,000 1 1661
5 12 Waitress Fox Searchlight Pictures $2,870,000 $5,387,000 4 510
6 3 28 Weeks Later 20th Century Fox Distribution $2,400,000 $23,521,000 3 2013
7 4 Georgia Rule Universal Pictures Distribution $1,856,000 $16,281,000 3 1904
8 5 Disturbia Paramount Pictures $1,759,000 $74,269,000 7 1632
9 6 Fracture New Line Cinema $1,200,000 $36,724,000 6 907
10 17 Wild Hogs Buena Vista Pictures Distribution $1,092,000 $162,919,000 13 426
11 14 Away From Her Lionsgate $780,000 $2,401,000 4 256
12 8 The Invisible Buena Vista Pictures Distribution $603,000 $18,712,000 5 457

Walt Disney Pictures' epic adventure, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, from Jerry Bruckheimer Films, landed in the global box office record books and laid claim to the biggest opening in industry history, with an unprecedented gross of $401 million in its first six days of release, it was announced today by Mark Zoradi, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Marketing and Distribution. This figure surpasses the previous record of $382 million set by the six-day opening of Spider-Man 3 earlier this month.

Domestically, "At World's End" raised its weekend estimate to $156 million (including Thursday night showings). The film set a new record for the four-day Memorial Day Weekend with its gross of $142 million (including Monday estimates), surpassing the previous high of $122.8 million set by X-Men: The Last Stand in 2006.

At the international box office, Disney's latest "Pirates" adventure shattered records from Russia to Japan with its phenomenal $245 million cume through Monday (including Monday estimates). The film had record-breaking openings (figures are through Sunday) in their respective markets in the following countries: Korea ($18.4 million), Japan ($15.9 million; US Productions only), Russia ($13.7 million), Spain ($11.6 million), Taiwan ($4.5 million) and Netherlands ($2.8 million). It also set new Walt Disney Studio records in the U.K. ($26.6 million), France ($17.7 million), Germany ($16.8 million) and Australia ($9.9 million). With its six-day tally of $245 million, "At World's End" has set a new international record that surpasses the previous six-day high of $232 million set by Spider-Man 3 a few weeks ago. "Pirates" still has a few markets yet to open including China and India.

Commenting on the announcement, Zoradi said, "We knew that audiences all over the world were excited to see Johnny Depp and the rest of the fantastic 'Pirates' cast in this latest adventure, but this record-setting response at the global box office has been nothing short of incredible. 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End' now has the distinction of having the biggest opening in movie history, and we're extremely proud of that achievement. Credit goes to the multitude of talent both in front of and behind the camera. Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski and their exceptional teams as well as the creative minds of writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio have proven to be the perfect recipe for success."

"Pirates" which rolled out on over 29,000 screens worldwide, showed on a record number of digital screens both domestically (1,064) and internationally (414) bringing the global total to 1,478. The film has already become the Studio's 54th release to join the $100 million club internationally and the 53rd film to reach the $100 million plateau domestically -- unprecedented in the industry.

I loved POTC, AWE! I also recommed it!