Sinking Ship

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End took first place over the holiday weekend. However, its victory lap may not be as extended as the one enjoyed by its predecessor...

Captain Jack (Depp) And Will (Bloom) in "At Woeld's End"

Ian Mohr of Variety

Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" sailed into the record books as the biggest extended Memorial Day weekend opening ever, rowing to $142 million over four days.

But the buccaneers' hefty doubloon count didn't quite live up to the hype heading into the weekend, or keep pace with the money-spinning of Sony's "Spider-Man 3," which was released earlier in the month and posted the biggest three-day opening of all time domestically: $151.1 million...

The weekend tally for "Pirates" -- which at 4,362 sites saw the widest ever release at North American theaters -- shot up to $156 million, according to Disney estimates, with the inclusion of limited Thursday-night screenings, which added $14 million to the pic's war chest, and the Monday holiday take.

Previous pic in the "Pirates" series, "Dead Man's Chest," amassed a three-day take of $135.6 million in its July bow last year.

The extended weekend haul of "At World's End," however, handily surpassed the $122.8 million that Fox's "X-Men: The Last Stand" notched last year when it broke the Memorial Day record.

B.O. charts headed by "Pirates" --fellow blockbusters "Shrek the Third" and "Spider-Man 3" rounded out the top three -- helped ticket sales spike dramatically overall: Top 10 pics combined, according to Rentrak, took in $262.4 million over four days vs. $186.9 million a year ago, when "X-Men" was tops.

Thanks to "Pirates," the Memorial Day frame was the biggest ever...While "Pirates" set the domestic Memorial Day weekend reecord..

Disney distribution head Chuck Viane said auds tend to find pics that open over Memorial Day weekend more gradually, as moviegoers have extra days to hit multiplexes. "People take their time (over a holiday weekend)," he said. "They don't have to run out opening day."

Including Thursday shows, the "Pirates" per-theater average was $35,776; Spidey's was $35,540 over three days in its opening weekend three weeks earlier.

In its second frame, DreamWorks Animation's "Shrek the Third" followed at No. 2, passing the $219 million mark by raking in another $69 million off 4,172. Pic dropped just 43% in its second weekend.

"Spider-Man 3" landed the No. 3 spot, adding $18 million over the weekend to run its domestic cume to $307.6 million. Pic's theater count was down to 3,723...

The entire article can be found here

Joshua Rich of Entertainment Weekly, meanwhile, offers a more pessimistic Pirates headline:

It's hardly the end of the world, but Depp & Co.'s No. 1 movie falls short of expectations...

A long running time and luke-warm critical reaction contributed to Pirates' performance-I'm sure. Family who saw the film told me the latest flick in the series isn't all that good...I'll wait for the DVD...