May 25, 2007 By Lou Gaul Calkins Media Film Critic 3 min read

Get ready for a record-making booty call this weekend as filmdom’s favorite swashbuckler, Captain Jack Sparrow, returns to take home the gold in “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.” The PG-13 third installment in the series is perhaps the most hotly anticipated film of the summer season and could have a bigger opening than the staggering $151.1 million taken in by “Spider-Man 3” in its debut weekend.

Also arriving will be a creepy-crawler thriller (“Bug”) and a romantically charged import (“Paris, je t’aime”).

The new films (with all dates subject to change) opening at a theater near you on this Memorial Day weekend include:

? “Bug,” with Harry Connick Jr. (“Independence Day”) and Ashley Judd (“Kiss the Girls”) in a claustrophobic R-rated psychological thriller about a mentally unbalanced veteran. The troubled young man keeps seeing images of insects, becomes involved with a lonely woman and goes into hiding in an Oklahoma hotel room.

? “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” with Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley in a PG-13 sequel that has the characters sailing beyond all charted territories in search of the ultimate treasure. They then encounter the nine greatest pirate lords from across the globe and face their most dangerous battle. Chow Yun-fat (“Hard-Boiled”) joins the series as a lethal pirate from Singapore, and Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards makes a cameo appearance as the father of Depp’s Jack Sparrow. Gore Verbinski, who helmed the first two installments (“The Curse of the Black Pearl” and “Dead Man’s Chest”), directed the 167-minute picture, which reportedly cost more than $300 million.

? “Paris, je t’aime,” with internationally known filmmakers such as siblings Joel and Ethan Coen (“Fargo”), Wes Craven (“Scream”), Alfonso Cuaron (“Children of Men”), Richard La Gravenese (“Freedom Writers”), Walter Salles (“Dark Water”), Tom Tykwer (“Run Lola Run”) and Gus Van Sant (“Good Will Hunting”) directing short segments of an R-rated import with stories – some funny; others dramatic – all linked by matters of the heart in the City of Lights. The large ensemble includes Juliette Binoche (“The English Patient”), Steve Buscemi (“Reservoir Dogs”), Gerard Depardieu (“1900”), Marianne Faithfull (“Marie Antoinette”), Maggie Gyllenhaal (“Secretary”), Catalina Sandina Moreno (“Maria Full of Grace”), Nick Nolte (“Affliction”), Miranda Richardson (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”), Gena Rowlands (“Gloria”), Rufus Sewell (“Dark City”) and Elijah Wood (the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy). It is being presented in English and French with subtitles.

At the buck$ office

Filmdom’s favorite ogre saw a lot of green at the box office last weekend.

“Shrek the Third” opened with $122 million. That ranks as the best debut ever for an animated movie, the Associated Press reported. (The previous record holder was “Shrek 2,” which opened with $108 million in 2004.)

The third installment of the franchise features the voices of Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas, and DreamWorks Animation – to no one’s surprise – already has a fourth “Shrek” visit on the drawing boards.

According to AP, the top-10 movies last weekend were:

1. “Shrek the Third” ($122 million)

2. “Spider-Man 3” ($28.5 million)

3. “28 Weeks Later” ($5.15 million)

4. “Disturbia” ($3.7 million)

5. “Georgia Rule” ($3.5 million)

6. “Fracture” ($2.4 million)

7. “Delta Farce” ($1.8 million)

8. “The Invisible” ($1.3 million)

9. “Hot Fuzz” ($1.26 million)

10. “Waitress” ($1.14. million)

Gaul on the Web

My film reviews, features and columns can be read on our Web site at lougaul.phillyburbs.com.