PIRATES Breaks Memorial Day Records

wow ... i am actually surprised that more people saw Spidey than Pirates, with a 30-50 million dollar gap. thats a chunk of change which means there are a hand full of people that didnt like the second pirates that werent interested in opening day showings so they are going to rent it!



i thought for sure spidey would get raped ... guess i was wrong

It's also possible that since school is out people didn't feel the urge to see it opening weekend and will go see it during the week.

As westend states,

Graduations were occuring this weekend during Pirates opening weekend.

Pirates also had 3-4 showings per day per screen.

Spider-Man 3 had 4-5 showings per day per screen.

It doesn't really matter anyway. My predictions have always been that Pirates beats out Spider-Man 3 both in Domestic and Foreign Sales and is the number one movie of the year. I'm sticking to that.

School's out this week. It will make it's money during this week and next week.

Jarrod Sarafin

So people were really surprised that a character (Capt. Jack) that has become passé in the few years he was introduced to the public, wasn’t able to overtake a 40 year old cultural icon (Spider-Man)?

What we’re seeing is the effect of too many movies coming out too close together. In the past two years, we’ve also seen that more families are going to the movies than kids or adults by themselves. It stands to reason that most families aren’t going to be able to afford to see all the movies coming out this summer, so they’re going to pick some to see in the theaters, and pick up others when they come out on DVD. With POTC3 clocking in at almost 3 hours long, I’m guessing that most families are going to opt to see it on DVD rather than in theaters, especially since POTC2 wasn’t that well received story-wise. That way, when the kids get bored (and they will), they can pause or stop the movie rather than fight with them in the theater.

Spidey 3 had the good fortune to be the first out of the gate for the summer, and likewise Shrek 3. Next week the only thing coming out that has the biggest anticipation is Knocked Up. Even then, I don’t expect that movie crack the top 3. The week after that we have Hostel II, Ocean’s 13, and Surf’s Up. Don’t be surprised if the penguin movie cracks the top 5, because families are still running the box office even in the summer. It’s not until three weeks from now that the next big summer movie is coming out Fantastic Four 2. And again, while this one may crack the top 3, I don’t think it’ll stay there for very long unless the families have this marked for a theater movie rather than a DVD movie.

Finally, you have to also remember that gas prices are at an all-time high right now, and many people aren’t going to be going too far for vacation. They also aren’t going to be heading to Europe anytime soon either (~$1.75 = 1 Euro).

Spider-man 3 has had great success so far, but i think fans are leaving dissapointed, due to the fact of not showing enough venom.
Pirates 3 has also had great success, and fans are leaving happy, because it had a great story, and great entertainment!
SO I THINK PIRATES 3 WILL END UP MAKING MORE MONEY THAN SPIDER-MAN 3........IM A PIRATES FAN!

Whilst I agree with your opinion there, MidNightFan...

I would say Pirates is going to make more money strictly from the fact that it's now the summer season. It's going to make more during the weekdays over the next two weeks then Spider-Man 3 did for that reason alone.


Spider-Man 3 is now being pulled out of some theaters just as the summer season officially opens and school is out. It will still be in screen coverage till the end of June at the very least but it will be getting pulled out of said coverage as the weeks pass by.

I would have said Spider-Man 3 would be the box office winner if it's release day was on May 24 and Pirates instead opened up on May 4.

But that's not what happened here.

The three hour running time will stop it from getting as many showings per day then Spider-Man 3 did but really, more then likely, Spidey got only one more showing per print per day then Pirates 3 has. The "summer" weekday factor will be the reason why Pirates will win this Summer Box Office Contest.


What I'm more interested in is who's getting second place for the summer.

Spider-Man 3.....or Harry Potter....Both have massive Worldwide appeal.

I have to think Transformers may make loads of cash as well but I'm thinking Transformers has a "What If" factor attached to it. It has a lot of appeal online much like Sin City did...much like Grindhouse did....much like Hot Fuzz did....

When the Transformers trailer came on before Pirates this weekend, I have to admit to having an ultimate smile attached. The movie looks like loads of potential adventure, action, and box office success for the studio.

Still, even with the fan boy within me eagerly anticipating the film, I have to wonder if it can match up with the global reach that Pirates, Spidey, and Potter has.

As we are seeing, it's the Worldwide totals and subsequent worldwide release which are contributing to each film's success. Spider-Man 3 opened in 107 overseas markets. Pirates 3 opened in 102 markets. Spidey wins that one. Now, let's see how many worldwide markets get opened up for FF:ROTSS, Harry Potter, Transformers, Die Hard, etc...Lets see how their market reach effects their standing in the box office race.

I'm curious on what Transformers is going to do in overseas markets as in comparison to Pirates, Spidey and Harry Potter.

We have wild cards as well. Pixar has always banked big time yet I don't see many people putting it's latest release in their predictions.

Ah, don't you love the summer season?

Let the predictions... the "going out on a limb" guesswork.... the "holy hell, was I wrong on that one" scenarios begin!

~Jarrod Sarafin~

Since there's been a lot of talk about Transformers, I thought I'd put in my two cents, and explain why I placed it below the established franchise movies of Spider-Man, Pirates, Shrek, and Potter.

I think some fanboys may be letting their nostalgia and own sense of anticipation influence their box office predictions for this movie. There's no doubt that it will draw in the adults who grew up on the show. It will also bring in the action/fx fans like myself. But - the achilles heel I'm seeing here is that there's very little to bring in the female side of the audience. As somebody who did not grow up on the Transformers, I see a trailer with a lot of hardware but nothing to get me emotionally involved. Shia LaBeouf is in it, and I know that Disturbia has had a surprisingly long run at the box office - but I'm not certain that Shia is going to have the box office appeal to draw in the female demographic by himself. I could be wrong, but I don't think he's at the Orlando Bloom level in that respect. Transformers looks like one of those movies where families will be split over the Fourth of July weekend - Dad 'n lads will go see it, while Mom and the girls will buy a ticket for something that appeals more to them. Don't get me wrong - I think it will do quite well, which is why it's one of only two of my Top Ten selections which isn't already in an established film franchise (Ratatouille being the other). In the long run, that's going to cost them against the other established franchise movies that have something to offer women and entire families.

And not that anybody cares about the #10 slot, but I have a theory about the resurgance of Wild Hogs. As Jarrod pointed out, it's not in many theaters anymore - I checked my local listings, and in my area it can only be found at the second-run theater. But, keep in mind that Memorial Day weekend has become a huge motorcycle rally weekend. Wild Hogs is also becoming something of a poster child for aging motor-cycle riding Baby Boomers. I can easily imagine a lot of these cycle-riding buddies getting together for rides this weekend, then going out the movies to watch Wild Hogs in the evening, even if it means tracking it down in the second-run theaters. The producers probably never expected the movie to be in any theaters over Memorial Day, but I suspect that this weekend's cycle rallies were just enough to bounce it back onto the Top Ten.

Pirates will end up owning the summer, and the year, because of when it was released and the fact that it's an adventure film for the whole family. Yes, it's a little long, and I saw a lot of antsy kids in my showing, but that won't stop many from going. Spider-Man is a super hero movie and that limits its audience a little (although not much). I think Harry Potter will outperform Shrek and Transformers because of the hype that will be surrounding the franchise this summer (with the last book coming out soon). I'm sticking to my predicitons, but I'm starting to wonder if Transformers won't sail past Shrek 3. There's so much buzz on Transformers and I think Shrek 3 was ok, but doesn't have the juice that the first two did.

I think snallygaster's right about Wild Hogs. My parents' motorcycle club went to see the movie this weekend after a morning poker run.

A few random thoughts...

(1) Some very good points, I thought, about families making the "see it in theaters"/"watch the DVD" distinctions. I may simply be a big cheapo (okay, I probably am!) and I do realize one must take inflation into account, but if one takes a family of four to the movies and doesn't simply rule out buying ANYTYHING at the concession stand, a movie outing can easily hit the $70-$80 range. For many folks, that is a significant chunk of change, especially as part of the entertainment budget. SO I do think the "Theater/DVD" decision is a very real one for many families, especially over the course of the summer. Not a novel observation, I realize, but the way it was put above was, I think, "clarifying"... at least for me! Really brought it into focus.

(2) TO some extent, when it comes to families and movies, there are at least two things in play ... (1) The movie itself and (2) the experience of "going to the movies", which, for some at least, is a pleasure almost (ALMOST!) in its own right. That doesn't mean that the fun of going to a theater compensates, completely, for seeing a stinker (esp at the prices mentioned above!) BUT... that has to be factored in, too, I think. Thus, if a movie is simply "okay" and "family friendly", especially if it is a comedy ( I am thinking Shrek 3 here, as a recent example) it is going to do a certain amount of business from families simply looking to "go to the movies".

(3) I have never worried overmuch about box office, except to the extent that box office payoff pretty much equates to other "similar" movies being made. Thus, as a fan of superheroes... *S*... I am always happy to see a superhero movie do well, even if it isn't my particular cup of tea, because it means we are likely to see MORE superheros on the screen. With that in mind, I hope Spidey, Pirates, FF, Transformers, etc, ALL do well... I am not rooting for one over the other, personally.

Shadow

Right now, the biggest news is that Pirates didn't land a KO against Spidey. Yeah, there was graduation, but that's still not a very satisfying answer. I think a number of folks weren't all that excited after DMC, and are holding off until the get positive wom.
So will Sparrow have less than a 60% drop off next weekend? I dunno, but I'll predict a drop off of around 55%. Not much competition, and +wom plus the folks who graduated, or held off because they didn't want to fight crowds this past weekend, should all factor in to help this film the first weekend in June.