Top 10 for May 25-28, 2007 Summary: Sunday estimates are in.
After just a one week reign at the top, DreamWorks Animation's Shrek 3 made way for the shore as Disney's sequel Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End plundered the Memorial Day weekend with a record $142.1 million from the Friday to Monday holiday frame, and $156.1 million since its official opening with Thursday night screenings. However, unlike the two other May sequels Shrek the Third and Spider-Man 3, At World's End failed to surpass its predecessors in becoming the biggest opening in franchise history. Last summer's Dead Man's Chest obliterated records with its $135.6 million three-day opening (Pirates 3's Friday-Sunday total was $115.1 million).
Reportedly budgeted at over $300 million, the swashbuckling conclusion to the Pirates of the Caribbean saga did shatter the four-day Memorial Day weekend record set last year by X-Men: The Last Stand's $122.9 million. It was also the fourth-highest grossing three-day opening in history with its $115.1 million Friday-Sunday take, behind only Spider-Man 3's $151.1 million, Pirates of the Caribbean 2's $135.6 million and Shrek the Third's $121.6 million. Worldwide, At World's End posted the biggest six-day launch in history with $401 million, and second biggest three-day launch with $325 million from Friday to Sunday, behind only Spider-Man 3's $381.7 million record.
Suffering from the worst reviews received for the franchise (although the second wasn't far behind), the critically immune Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End failed to surpass its predecessor for several reasons, the biggest being an already crowded marketplace for blockbusters with Shrek the Third coming off its record-breaking opening weekend and to a lesser extent Spider-Man 3 coming off its third weekend of release. It has also been less than a year since its immediate predecessor Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest hit theaters, potentially giving some fans a bit of Pirate fatigue.
Falling 56% from its opening weekend but still managing a very impressive $69.1 million over the four-day weekend was DreamWorks Animation's Shrek the Third, which also took in $53 million from Friday-Sunday. The decline was much sharper than its predecessor Shrek 2's 33% sophomore dip, due in part to both the Pirates 3 launch and not nearly as strong word of mouth. In eleven days of release, the big green machine has amassed $219.4 million, and should have no trouble surpassing $300 million domestically.
Sony's $300 million budgeted Spider-Man 2 fell another steep 52% in its fourth frame, pulling in $18 million over the four-day weekend. In 25 days the webslinger has grossed $307.6 million, making it the first film to surpass $300 million this year. Though domestically Spider-Man 3 looks headed to becoming by far the lowest grossing film of the franchise, its staggering global total of $806 million means the third film in the franchise will likely be the highest grossing Spider-Man film ever.
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