The last-minute decision by Disney (DIS) to show "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" on Thursday obviously took away any chance at the movie competing for the top opening in history; and the numbers showed it.
On Friday the movie took in $43 million in the U.S., far behind the $58.3 million that "Spider-Man 3" enjoyed. On the Thursday night showings, "Pirates" brought in $14 million, which when added with Friday still falls short of "Spidey," but not by much.
While there is little chance that the movie will break the three-day weekend record set by "Spider-Man 3" with $151.1 million, Chuck Viane, Disney head of distribution said the company decided to go for the best four-day Memorial Day weekend record, which is held by "X-Men: The Last Stand" with $122.9 million.
It sounds to me like they knew it would be about impossible to beat the record of "Spider-Man 3," so they decided to go after the much more attainable four-day Memorial opener record, so they can have something for promotional bragging rights.
Combined with the international market, "Pirates" has taken in $142.5 million since opening on Wednesday.
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