PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END (with more cutting edge vfx from ILM) continued to chart new waters and rewrite the record books at the global box office with its unprecedented six-day opening tally of $404M. The film easily surpassed the previous opening record of $382 million set by SPIDER-MAN 3 just a few weeks ago.
Domestically, AT WORLD'S END claimed a new milestone with the all-time biggest four-day gross for a Memorial Day (or any holiday) weekend. The film grossed $139.8M for the four-day holiday period ended May 28, 2007, and boosted its cume to a swashbuckling $153M.
Adding to its status in 102 international territories (on an unprecedented 17,500 screens), AT WORLD'S END sailed into the record books with its opening gross (through May 28) of $251M. The film posted record-breaking industry openings in 17 territories: Argentina, Ecuador, Holland, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Malaysia, Norway, Panama, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Taiwan, Ukraine and Venezuela. The film continues to set Walt Disney Studios records in such countries as the U.K. ($34.5M), Germany ($22.9M), France ($22M), Korea ($19.3M), Japan ($18.4M), Russia ($15.4M), Spain ($13.2M), Australia ($10.5M) and a consolidated Latin American regional gross of $22.9M. AT WORLD'S END still has a few markets yet to open, including China and India.
Commenting on the announcement, Mark Zoradi, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Marketing and Distribution, said, "We knew that audiences all over the world were excited to see Johnny Depp and the rest of the fantastic PIRATES' cast in this latest adventure, but this record-setting response at the global box office has been nothing short of incredible. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END now has the distinction of having the biggest opening in movie history, and we're extremely proud of that achievement. Credit goes to the multitude of talent both in front of and behind the camera. Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski and their exceptional teams as well as the creative minds of writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio have proven to be the perfect recipe for success."
As for the rest of the top 10, Paramount/DreamWorks' animated SHREK THE THIRD came in second place, generating $67M for a two-week cume of $217.3M. Sony's SPIDER-MAN 3 (with impressive vfx from Sony Pictures Imageworks) followed in third with $18.1M for a four-week total of $307.7M. Debuting in fourth with $4.01M was Lionsgate's BUG. Fox Searchlight's WAITRESS scored fifth with $4M and $6.5M. Settling for sixth with $3.2M and a cume of $24.3M was Fox Atomic's 28 WEEKS LATER (with gritty vfx from Rising Sun Pictures, Animal Logic, Lip Sync, The Senate, The Mill, Rushes, Framestore CFC, DNA, Chocolate Lab, Prime Focus and Rainmaker). The seventh place finisher was DISTURBIA from Paramount/DreamWorks with $2.4M and $74.9M. Universal's GEORGIA RULE scored eighth with $2.4M and $16.9M. New Line's FRACTURE came in ninth with $1.6M and $37.1M. And 10th place belonged to Buena Vista's WILD HOGS with $1.5M and a cume of $163.4M. Box office information obtained from boxofficemojo.com.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
