Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End got a luke warm reception at the box office this weekend. Well, OK, it would have been a really great weekend for nearly any other movie, but for the successor to and continuation of last year's record smashing Dead Man's Chest it was something of a anti-climactic opening.
Of course, the third Pirates film took first place for the weekend, but the $112 million it cleared was too low to beat the $135 million that Dead Man's Chest raked in last summer. I can't say I'm disappointed. The second film was a major disappointment and third was just as disappointing. It looks like at least a few people out there wised up to the franchise's declining quality and didn't rush out to hand over their money for another unworthy sequel.
The picture might have been a little brighter if the ticket sales from the early Thursday evening showings (which totaled $14 million) had been included, but official weekend numbers only count from midnight Thursday to midnight Sunday.
Pirates' performance was somewhat surprising to an industry that was expecting the movie to follow last summer's suit and be the biggest moneymaker of the year. At this point it will have to settle for a distant second. Spider-Man 3 still holds the record for the biggest weekend opening and highest gross sales for the year. At World's End couldn't break the first of those records and it doesn't look too hopeful for it to overtake the second one either. Not that Disney is hurting, though. Even given At World's End's massive $300 million budget, the movie has already made back more than that amount in international sales. Captain Jack isn't king of the American box office, but he's still turning Disney a pretty piece o'eight.
UPDATE: Full and updated numbers for the weekend sales for the Memorial Day Weekend and Pirates managed a weak record for the holiday. Check here for updates and the full three and four day totals.
