Assuming it does not suffer a major setback in the final report, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” will claim the best year-to-date box office opening.
“The Hangover: Part 2” could very well challenge for that title next week, but as of right now, “Pirates” did enough to beat “Fast Five” with $90.1 million in receipts over the weekend. Short of the hoped-for $100 million, the total still dominated the rest of the box office competition.
Very distantly behind was “Bridesmaids,” which nonetheless impressed on $21.1 million. The remarkable 80% retention is a testament to the strong reviews and word-of-mouth for the female-led comedy.
“Thor” dipped to $15.5 million for week three, topping “Fast Five” ($10.6 million) and “Rio” ($4.7 million).
On the platform front, Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” opened to $580,000 on six screens.
Weekend Top Ten:
1) Pirates of the Caribbean 4 – $90.1M
2) Bridesmaids – $21.1M ($59.5M)
3) Thor – $15.5M ($145.4M)
4) Fast Five – $10.6M ($186.2M)
5) Rio – $4.7M ($131.6M)
6) Priest – $4.6M ($23.7M)
7) Jumping the Broom – $3.7M ($31.3M)
8) Something Borrowed – $3.4M ($31.4M)
9) Water for Elephants – $2.2M ($52.4M)
10) Madea’s Big Happy Family – $1.0M ($51.8M)
I also think the fact that World’s end was a direct sequel made audiences feel more obligated to see it where as stranger tides feels more like a reboot with the jettisoning of Bloom and Knightley http://bit.ly/jSoBhW