Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" raked in more than 400 million dollars since its release last week, smashing the previous industry record set by Sony's "Spider-Man 3" earlier this month, according to studio figures released Monday.

The third, and probably the last, film of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise has grossed 401 million dollars in last six days since opening in over 100 countries and territories, said Mark Zoradi, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Marketing and Distribution.

The epic adventure starring Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley overpassed "Spider-Man 3," which set the previous record of 381.7 million dollars for a Hollywood blockbuster in a six-day period of opening.

"Pirates" opened in North America on Thursday and in some international theaters on Wednesday.

It hauled in 115.1 million dollars in North America over the three-day weekend, short of "Spider-Man 3" and last summer's " Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," which respectively took in 151.1 million and 135.6 million dollars in their opening weekends.

But the film's four-day gross of 142.1 million dollars is the biggest ever Memorial Day weekend gross, surpassing last year's "X- Men: The Last Stand," which brought in 122.9 million dollars over the four-day weekend.

"At World's End" is the third blockbuster in three weeks to break major movie sales records, and industry observers note that the red hot summer season has only started, with several major pictures including "Ocean's 13," "Transformers" and "Harry Porter and the Order of the Phoenix" to be released in coming weeks.

DreamWorks Animation's "Shrek the Third" came in second over the three-day weekend with 53 million dollars, or 69 million over the four-day holiday.

While "Spider-Man 3" brought in 14.2 million dollars to take third over the three-day weekend, or about 18 million dollars over four days. The superhero action film has grossed a whopping 307.6 million dollars in North America since its record-breaking debut three weeks ago.

The thriller "Bug," starring Ashley Judd as a lonely waitress who pairs up with a paranoid Gulf War veteran who sees bugs in a spooky motel room, came in fourth with 3.3 million dollars over three-days, and about 4.2 million dollars over the long weekend.

The comedy "Waitress," about a waitress and master pie maker who finds herself pregnant while trapped in a bad marriage, came in fifth with 3.1 million dollars over the three-day weekend, and 4 million dollars through Monday.

The 12 top-grossing films brought in a combined 250.2 million dollars over the Memorial Day weekend, up 8 percent from the 231.8 million dollars generated during the same period a year earlier.

Source: Xinhua