SONY AND DISNEY SQUABBLE OVER RECORD
Wed, May 30, 2007
Sony and Disney are in a feud over the global box-office record. Despite being unable to take back the opening weekend record from Spider-Man 3, Disney has claimed that Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End took the worldwide top spot by bringing in $404 million in six days. In contrast, Spider-Man 3 made $382 million in its first six days worldwide.
Sony claims that Disney included ticket sells from early screening in Italy and France on Tuesday, May 22nd which they claim adds a seventh day of grosses to a six-day record. If Sony had included their seventh day in the record, they would have the record at $418 million. ”We believe that as more and more ‘day-and-date’ releases enter the marketplace, there should be a consistent standard in international box-office reporting,” says Sony spokesman Steve Elzer.
Disney, on the other hand, claims they have done nothing wrong and would hold the record with or without the revenue from Tuesday’s screenings. ”A limited number of evening previews were held in Italy and France prior to the official opening day in those countries,” says Mark Zoradi, president of Disney’s motion picture group. ”But the grosses from those previews amounted to only $1.4 million of the total. We are enormously proud of Pirates record-breaking worldwide opening gross of $404 million. We look forward to the film’s subsequent openings in China and India.”
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