Will 'Pirates' Capture Moviegoers?

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Following the failure of Warner Bros.' Superman Returns to meet analysts' predictions for its opening last week, studios are hoping that next weekend's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and some smaller films being released later in the month will help erase last year's 8.5 percent box-office slump, Bloomberg News observed today (Thursday). It said that three analysts that it surveyed on average expect Pirates to take in $97.4 million over the three-day weekend. The wire service quoted Exhibitor Relations chief Paul Dergarabedian as saying that when audiences are drawn to the movies by a blockbuster, they keep coming back. Similarly, Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook, taking note of the fact that the box office is 2 percent ahead of last year (but well behind 2004), observed, "We are off to a good start. ...What will really be the telling tale is if we can continue that momentum."