Pirates' Thursday Night Fever
Ahoy, box office gold!
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End took in a record $17 million from U.S. theaters Thursday night, smashing the record for preview screenings held since 1996 by Independence Day, which grossed $11.1 million heading into the Fourth of July weekend, according to Media by Numbers' Paul Dergarabedian.
About 3,000 theaters, including Hollywood's famed El Capitan, which is all decked out with pirate regalia for the occasion, started screening the film at 8 p.m. on Thursday—a last-minute decision for Disney, but obviously one that paid off.
"We got a lot of pressure from exhibitors to do something special," Disney distribution head Chuck Viane told Variety before the movie unspooled yesterday. "So this is what we chose because midnight shows are tied into urban centers. This way, any small town theater owner can get in on Pirates mania."
"This number tells us that people have a tremendous interest in this movie, regardless of the running time, regardless of any reviews," Dergarabedian told the Associated Press.
Combined with the $41.1 million At World's End took in Wednesday and Thursday overseas, that's $58 million for the film so far.
"We're thrilled beyond belief with these spectacular early returns…and anticipate that the incredible excitement and demand will continue throughout the weekend and summer," said Mark Zoradi, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Marketing and Distribution.
Analysts are predicting that, even if the swashbuckling sequel doesn't best the opening-weekend domestic box-office record set three weeks ago by Spider-Man 3's $151 million, At World's End will cream the Memorial Day-weekend record, currently held by X-Men: The Last Stand ($122.8 million).
The third installment in the blockbuster franchise, which clocks in at two hours and 47 minutes, actually set a record before the first bucket of popcorn was consumed, opening on 4,362 screens to give it the widest North American release ever.
To date, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Titanic are the only individual films to crack $1 billion at the box office.
As for this summer's other mega-hyped sequels, as of Thursday, Spider-Man 3 had taken in $756.6 million worldwide, and Shrek the Third, which opened last Friday, had gobbled up $164.6 million. Another highly anticipated saga extender, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, hits theaters July 13.
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