Box office estimates for the weekend of May 20-22 Movie Title – Weekend Gross | Theaters | Total Gross | Week # … [The Scorecard Review final score]

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – $90.1 million | 4,155 | $90.1 million | Week 1 … [4/10]

2. Bridesmaids – $21 million | 2,937 | $59.5 million | Week 2 … [8/10]

2. Thor – $15.5 million | 3,924 | $145.4 million | Week 3 … [8/10]

4. Fast Five – $10.6 million | 3,622 | $186.2 million | Week 4 … [6/10]

5. Rio – $4.6 million | 2,593 | $131.6 million | Week 6 … [6/10]

Source: www.boxofficemojo.com

TSR's complete Film Review Database

Surprising no one, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was the #1 film at the box office this past weekend. It's $90.1 million take represents the biggest opening weekend of 2011, however this fourth installment of the PotC franchise sold quite a few less tickets than many industry gurus had predicted, and it was the weakest opening for the franchise to date. For frame of reference: The 1st film of the series, The Curse of the Black Pearl, a dark horse upon its release in 2003, brought in $92 million in its opening weekend, where the 2nd film, Dead Man's Chest brought in a monster $163 million (a record at the time), and the third film, At World's End, sold $141 million in tickets. Please note: all aforementioned figures have been adjusted for inflation.

In it's 2nd weekend, Bridesmaids took in a considerable $21 million, just $5 million less than it's opening weekend, earning it a 2nd place finish.  In 3rd place, in its 3rd weekend, Thor continued to impress audiences, bringing in another $15.5 million. Thanks to that respectable take, Thor is now the 2nd highest grossing film of 2011 to date, 2nd only to Fast Five, which rolled in with a fourth place finish in it's 4th weekend. Thanks to four substantial weekends in a row, Fast Five has built up a decent cushion, and dethroning it from the much vaunted "highest grossing film of 2011" position is going to be no small feat. It's earned $186 million dollars in just over three weeks, and has a $41 million lead over the god of thunder. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (releases July 2nd) will likely be the first to leap-frog past Fast Five, but it could be Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, depending on Jack Sparrow's staying power.

Calhoun Kersten vs. Aaron Ruffcorn

Each weekend Kersten and Ruffcorn go head to head in the Box Office Challenge, trying to pick the correct Top 5. This weekend ... Ruffcorn Wins! Season record: Kersten 3 - Ruffcorn 2 Thoughts by TSR: Just when Kersten was poised to take a three point lead, Ruffcorn wins another close one. Ruffcorn's PotC prediction was a mere $25 million off, where Kersten was off by a whopping $45 million. Ruffcorn also scored a few extra points by once again predicting Rio in at number 5. Or to put it another way: Priest disappointed Kersten, and with it's absence from the top 5, sealed the deal for Ruffcorn.

A recapitulation of their predictions:

Calhoun Kersten’s prediction for the weekend of May 20-22 …

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ($45 Million) 2. Bridesmaids 3. Thor 4. Fast Five 5. Priest

Aaron Ruffcorn’s prediction for the weekend of May 20-22 …

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ($115 Million) 2. Thor 3. Bridesmaids 4. Fast Five 5. Rio