MUMBAI: The latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie hasn’t fared well when it comes to reviews — the film, subtitled Dead Men Tell No Tales, currently has a 32 percent on Rotten Tomatoes — but it did come out on top at the box office this weekend, earning an estimated $62.2 million, with the Memorial Day boost bringing its estimated weekend total to $76.6 million.
While the movie is the top performer this weekend, it also marks the franchise’s second-worst opening since The Curse of the Black Pearl premiered with $46 million 13 years ago. It also signals a case of franchise fatigue: The 2006 sequel Dead Man’s Chest debuted with $135.6 million, 2007’s At World’s End premiered with $114.7 million, and, most recently, 2011’s On Stranger Tides pulled in $90 million its first weekend.
Nonetheless, Dead Men Tell No Tales has fared quite well internationally, bringing in an estimated foreign haul of $208 million for a worldwide estimated total of $270.6 million, which carries the cumulative earnings of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise past the $4 billion mark.
In second place this weekend is Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The adventures of Star Lord, Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, Drax, and Baby Groot earned an estimated $19.9 million ($24.2 million after Memorial Day). As a result, the movie has earned an estimated $333.2 million domestically, and an estimated $783.3 million worldwide so far — already more than its predecessor’s total earnings ($773 million) at the end of its run.
Coming in at No. 3 is new release Baywatch. The R-rated comedy follows Dwayne Johnson’s Mitch Buchannon as the lifeguard butts heads with a new recruit (Zac Efron) while they work to uncover a local crime. Priyanka Chopra (Quantico) also stars in the poorly reviewed movie (it currently has a 19 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), which brought in weekend earnings of $18.1 million so far, with the film estimated to come in at $22 million after Monday.
Rounding out the top five are Alien: Covenant and Everything, Everything, bringing in an estimated $10.5 million and $6.2 million, respectively. The latter — an adaptation of Nicola Yoon’s YA bestseller of the same name — has been performing especially well compared to recent YA novel-based (or YA-skewing) films like Before I Fall ($4.7 million) and The Space Between Us ($3.8 million).
Elsewhere in the top 10, Fate of the Furious became the sixth movie to cross the $1 billion mark internationally, while the Emma Watson-starring live-action version of Beauty and the Beast has now earned more than $500 million in the domestic market. This brings Disney’s 2017 domestic earnings past $1 billion.
Outside the top 10, Amazon’s Grateful Dead documentary Long Strange Trip was released in two locations for an estimated earning of $295,703, with a PTA haul of $17,066. The rock documentary, which has a runtime of 235 minutes, follows the story of how the band got together, as well as their many ups and downs on the road to stardom.
Per ComScore, overall box office is up 2.3 percent in the same frame from last year. Check out the May 26-28 box office figures below. The four-day Memorial Day weekend (May 26-29) numbers are noted in parentheticals.
1 – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales – $62.2 million ($76.6 million)
2 – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – $19.9 million ($24.2 million)
3 – Baywatch – $18.1 million ($22 million)
4 – Alien: Covenant – $10.5 million ($13.2 million)
5 – Everything, Everything – $6.2 million ($7.8 million)
6 – Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul – $4.4 million ($5.7 million)
7 – Snatched – $3.9 million ($4.9 million)
8 – King Arthur: Legend of the Sword – $3.2 million ($4.0 million)
9 – The Boss Baby – $1.7 million ($2.25 million)
10 – Beauty and the Beast – $1.6 million ($2.0 million)
