Latest 'Pirates' Already Sets a Record
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End will open in 4,362 theaters this weekend, beating the record of 4,252 set earlier this month by Spider-Man 3. (It's estimated that Pirates will appear on more than 11,000 screens.) The question being batted around by analysts is, will the film exceed Spider-Man 3's record-setting opening weekend in ticket sales? Working against it is the fact that, unlike Spider-Man 3, World's End faces some stiff competition for its opening, including Spider-Man 3 itself, as well as Shrek the Third, which opened only last week. On the other hand, the film will be debuting over the four-day Memorial Day holiday, and some theaters have indicated they'll be keeping staff at work -- at least to run the three top movies -- 24 hours per day.