Booty Call

Even though I'm still rooting for The Man Of Steel to do very well financially, so that everyone can calm down about how much the film cost to make, I have to say I'm quite giddy over Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Every time I watch the trailer for the sequel, I can't help but smile from ear to ear--it looks like its a lot of fun...

Gabriel Snyder and Dave McNary of Variety report today, that the second installment looks like it will be a box office bonanza for Disney, not only in the states, but abroad as well.

With absolutely huge tracking numbers for Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'' -- more than 50% of those polled in one survey said it's their first choice pic to see this weekend -- a monster opening is expected from the sequel when it bows today at an ultrawide 4,133 locations.

Based on the massive interest from all audience quadrants, rival studio execs say "Dead Man's Chest," starring Johnny Depp and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, has a good shot of breaking the current three-day box office record held by Sony's "Spider-Man," which took in $114.8 million in May 2002.

But Disney is staying mum on how big it thinks "Pirates" will be. "I have no idea. I am not even going to fathom a guess," Mouse House distrib topper Chuck Viane said. "No matter how you answer that question, it can come back to hurt you."

Still, the studio has made a huge bet on the surprise franchise, plunking down over $350 million to shoot both "Dead Man's Chest" back-to-back with a third sequel, "At the End of the World," currently [scheduled] for release over next summer's Memorial Day weekend.

Other studios, meanwhile, are expecting "Pirates," the only new wide release pic this week, to plunder the competition. Both Warner tentpole "Superman Returns" and Fox's "The Devil Wears Prada" could find their auds distracted by the Mouse House's buccaneers.

Warners distrib chief Dan Fellman said, "We expect to take a substantial drop because of the holiday, but after that we're going to level off." Part of the reason that Warners moved up "Superman" to a Wednesday bow last week was to take advantage of the seven-day holiday stretch and maximize grosses before "Pirates" sailed in.

"The premiere weekend of the summer (to release a movie) without a doubt was the Fourth of July. We'll probably have $115 million before they open and that's a good jump start in any situation."

Warner also announced Thursday that Imax showings of "Superman Returns" had set a record for best opening week at $6.83 million at 76 screens and best seven-day per screen average at $89,804. Pic, which also opened at 11 internationally, will add 24 theaters for a total of 111, setting the record for the widest Hollywood release in Imax history. The previous record was 87 Imax theaters worldwide for "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."

Early signs are showing a huge demand for "Pirates" tickets. Viane said nearly every show at the Disney-owned El Capitan Theater in Hollywood is sold out through the weekend...

Viane said he expects at least 1,000 theaters to have midnight screenings on Thursday night, but added the number could be double that after theaters report their grosses.

Online ticket sellers Fandango and Movietickets.com both reported that pre-sales of "Pirates" tickets are moving at double the rate for "Superman Returns" last week. At Movietickets.com, "Pirates" had become the biggest pre-seller of the year, passing "X-Men: The Last Stand," which earned $45.1 million on its opening Friday.

Anecdotally, Viane said exhibs are reporting similar experiences. "My grapevine is saying 'Wow.' They say people are already asking for tickets for shows on Saturday and Sunday. There seems to be this unbelievable pent-up demand."

Overseas, Disney will avoid pitting "Pirates" against Sunday's World Cup championship match[Go Italy!!!! T] and will hold the pic back from the most soccer-obsessed territories. Only seven markets are opening day-and-date, including Australia and South Korea.

Buena Vista International won't officially report numbers until Sunday, but rival distribs estimate Thursday's opening day biz in Australia at a socko $1.95 million from 270 playdates. That performance that could lead to the biggest launch weekend in Australia since "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" opened with $10.4 million last year.

In 2003, before Disney released "The Curse of the Black Pearl," the theme park ride-based pic was largely an afterthought on the summer sked scattered with the more anticipated tentpoles "Finding Nemo," "The Matrix Reloaded" and "X2: X-Men United."

Read the entire article--'Pirates' set to plunder--for more

The critical and financial success of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl from 2003 took everyone by surprise. Who knew that a film based on a theme park ride would turn out so good? I had my doubts. And then I saw it and was blown away....

Having said that, the critical reaction to the sequel has been...dare I say it... less than kind...And Entertainment Weekly critic Lisa Schwarzbaum gives the film a D+ (she didn't like the first one either).

Ah, another interesting weekend at the movies...