Is Jerry Bruckheimer Taking a Page from Jeffrey Katzenberg?

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which opened last July to a then-record-setting $135.6 million, was the biggest hit in 2006, making $423 million total. And now, as summer box-office tradition demands, it's time to ask if this year's installment will break any records, as AP does today. And it seems like laconic super producer Jerry Bruckheimer has taken a page from DW's Jeffrey Katzenberg when answering if he thinks that Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End will beat Spider-Man 3's $151 million opening weekend:

"I don't think you can break their record, because when they came in the marketplace, there weren't a lot of big movies. So there were a lot of screens available," he said. "We'll have two huge movies in the marketplace. We can't get the amount of seats they had...So I doubt if we'll do it, but you never know. If we get opened to a nice number, I'll be thrilled."

Again, way to manage expectations, Jerry. If you're right, you look humble and smart. If you're wrong, who cares? You're movie just opened huge. Here's what Katzenberg said a few days before Shrek the Third hit theaters and became the biggest opening for an animated film and the biggest opening for a PG-rated movie:

"I hope we have a very, very good weekend, but I don't expect us to set any records," he said.

Hollywood has never been big on originality, but come on guys. All this playing-it-safe is getting way too predictable. I think fans are ready for some gloves-off trash talking, like they do in professional boxing. Here, I'll do it for you. "Is Pirates going to trounce Spidey's record? F*ck yes, it will. I'm Jerry Bruckheimer. I didn't become the number one producer in the world by making bombs. Now get the f*ck out of my face."

See how much fun that was? Still, as AP points out, the three movies could lift Hollywood beyond its busiest Memorial Day ever in 2004, when the industry grossed $247 million over the four-day weekend. Through last weekend, Hollywood's domestic revenue for 2007 was at $3.3 billion, 6.5 percent ahead of last year's receipts.

[Photo credit: Jerry Bruckheimer, Yun-Fat Chow and Johnny Depp at the "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" Tokyo Press Conference, by Jun Sato/WireImage.com]