Despite a 62% drop in attendance, Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End held onto the top spot at the North American box office during its second week in release. The CG-heavy action-adventure spectacle brought in an estimated $43 million to bring its two-week domestic gross to around $216 million. Worldwide, the pic has raked in around $623 million so far, making the majority of its money in overseas markets.

Knocked Up, Universal’s critically acclaimed comedy from The 40 Year Old Virgin director Judd Apatow, opened strong with an estimated $29.3 million bow, pushing DreamWorks Animation’s Shrek the Third into the No. 3 spot in its third week. The animated sequel made approximately $26.7 million in North America this latest round and stays ahead of Pirates with around $254 million collected domestically. Worldwide boxoffice for the CG comedy is expected to balloon past its current $282 million (est.) standing as it rolls out in more international markets in the coming weeks.

MGM’s Kevin Costner serial killer thriller, Mr. Brooks, debuted at No. 4 with about $10 million, and Sony/Columbia Pictures’ Spider-Man 3 rounds out the top five with an estimated $7.5 million in its fifth week out of the gate. So far, the superhero yarn has spun a $844 million web worldwide and looks likely to hold onto the summer title belt for some time.

After pulling in solid numbers from two theaters in New York last weekend, the anime mindbender Paprika from Japanese director Satoshi Kon (reaped an additional $59,000 from three venues in Los Angeles. Backed by rave reviews, the Sony Pictures Classics release has managed a total of about $117,000 in very limited release and will hopefully be expanding into other select cities soon.