Bloomberg — “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” had ticket sales of $43 million yesterday, falling short of the opening-day record of $59.8 million set by “Spider-Man 3” earlier this month.The Walt Disney Co. film is playing in a record 4,362 US and Canadian theatres over the four-day weekend. Total sales for the film, including evening shows in 3,100 cinemas on Thursday were $57 million, box-office tracker Media by Numbers LLC said yesterday in a statement.

Sales for “Pirates” were hindered by competition from “Spider-Man 3” and “Shrek the Third,” with each still playing in more than 4,000 theatres. Sony Corp.’s “Spider-Man 3” was the only major release when it opened on May 4. The film went on to set a three-day weekend record of $151 million.

Disney increased the chances for a record by opening “Pirates” in the most theatres ever. “Spider-Man 3” also opened in more than 4,000, part of a push by studios to make money quickly in a summer season laden with big-budget sequels. “Pirates” took in at least $14 million on May 24, Media by Numbers said. That was a record for preview showings before a film’s general release.

“Having previews on Thursday and making $14 million takes the juice out of the weekend numbers,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media by Numbers. “I don’t think it was about breaking numbers for Disney, it was about serving the diehard fans by giving them the previews.”

“Pirates” is among 14 sequels Hollywood studios are releasing this summer. The slate includes a new “Harry Potter” film from Time Warner Inc., scheduled for July 13, and sequels to News Corp.’s “Fantastic Four” series and the “Bourne” thrillers from Universal Pictures.

“Pirates” was expected to take in about $130 million on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, according to Gitesh Pandya, editor of Boxofficeguru.com. For the four days of the holiday weekend, Pandya projected $162 million. That compares with the $116 million four-day forecast by New York-based JP Morgan Securities analyst Imran Khan.

“Pirates” has “a good shot” at beating the $122.9 million record set for a four-day Memorial Day weekend by News Corp.’s “X-Men: The Last Stand” on May 26, 2006, Dergarabedian said. “When we look at Thursday to Monday, we’re going to be looking at really big numbers.”

The film is the third in Disney’s “Pirates” series starring Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. Co-stars Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom reprise their roles as Sparrow’s friends as the trio is caught up in a battle to preserve the freedom of pirates around the world.

Among the newcomers to the series, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has a cameo role as Sparrow’s father. Richards was recruited for the film after Depp said the ageing rocker was the inspiration for his portrayal of Sparrow.

The Disney studio earned $142.5 million worldwide from “Pirate” ticket sales, according to a statement.

“This is the biggest Friday our company has ever had and we’re definitely on track to having our best box-office weekend ever,” said Mark Zoradi, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture marketing and distribution.