Audiences may love Jack Sparrow, but not as much as they loved Shrek and Spider-Man, according to the box-office returns for the week ending May 31, which saw Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End arrive with the softest opening of May’s three tentpole releases.

The Buena Vista release grossed $11.9 million on 417 screens in Canada, putting its opening behind that of Shrek the Third, which made $14.6 million during its May 16-24 opening week, and Sony’s Spider-Man 3, which coined $15.8 million May 4-10.

Pirates did better in the U.S. The swashbuckling Johnny Depp-starrer set a new record for a Memorial Day opening, and edged out Shrek to take second place for the month. Its debut marks the end of a very busy May, during which the three much-hyped mega-releases have made a combined $61.5 million in Canada.

Pirates, naturally, was the top release for the week, followed by Shrek and Spidey, which is beginning to cool after four weeks on screens. Bug — the drama from Maple Pictures and Lionsgate, and the only major title to come out against Pirates — did not appear on the top 10 chart provided by the MPTAC.

Other notable rankings for the week include Fox’s 28 Weeks Later and Universal’s Georgia Rule, both of which are performing slightly better in Canada than in the U.S., and Waitress from Fox Searchlight, which rose two spots in its third week to eighth place.

Away from Her remained at number seven, following a slight expansion to 33 screens, and made another $161,400 for its handlers at Mongrel Media and Capri Releasing.

Among Canadian-mades, Monkey Warfare leapt to second place, replacing A vos marques… Party!, behind Away. The low-budget film by Reg Harkema has been playing on one screen in Montreal through Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm since mid-April, where, last week, it brought in a very strong $7,900.