‘Pirates 3’ Tops Box Office On Biggest Memorial Day Weekend Ever

UPDATED May 29, 2007) — Hollywood has never seen such a Memorial Day weekend.

“Pirates of the Caribbean 3” set a new record by making $142 million from Friday to Monday. That’s about $19 million more than the four-day Memorial holiday record set last year by “X-Men: The Last Stand.”

Overall, it was the best Memorial Day weekend ever with a total of $ 265 million in ticket sales, $18 million more than the previous high set in 2004.

“Shrek the Third” slips to second after only one week on top. It raked in another $69 million. “Spider-Man 3” is third, followed by the premiere of “Bug” and “Waitress.”

As for Friday to Sunday, “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” hauled in $112.5 million, 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.

“Ironically,” Access Hollywood‘s Scott Mantz points out, “‘Pirates 3’ opens on the 30th anniversary of the original ‘Star Wars,’ which gave new meaning to the word ‘blockbuster’ when it opened on May 25, 1977.”

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.

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.

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.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Tuesday.

1. “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” $112.5 million.
2. “Shrek the Third,” $51 million.
3. “Spider-Man 3,” $13.7 million.
4. “Bug,” $3.3 million.
5. “Waitress,” $3.1 million.
6. “28 Weeks Later,” $2.5 million.
7. “Georgia Rule,” $1.9 million.
8. “Disturbia,” $1.8 million.
9. “Wild Hogs,” $1.1 million.
10. “Fracture,” $1.08 million.

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