Johnny Depp has starred in some huge blockbusters, including several films that grossed more than $1 billion. As a result, the actor often is ranked as one of the world’s biggest movie stars, but it is significant that he has only come close to being a sure-thing audience draw when he’s either playing a pirate or starring in a Tim Burton movie.

As this weekend’s grosses for Dark Shadows reminds us, however, not all of his collaborations with Burton have done all that well.

Dark Shadows earned an estimated $28.8 million this weekend, below the $33.3 million it was forecast to earn. It got trounced by The Avengers, which earned an estimated $103.2 million in its second weekend in domestic release.

Depp-Burton partisans might blame the unstoppable Avengers juggernaut for Dark Shadows‘ poor showing, but you can’t dismiss the fact that it’s a bad movie that also is a commercial miscalculation. The 1960s-era TV horror-soap opera on which the film is based had a loyal following, but how many of them will want to see a special-effects laden comedy? And it’s clear that the duo’s younger fans weren’t drawn to the material either.

The Avengers keeps breaking box office records. It had the best opening weekend ever and now has won those honors for its second weekend, coming in far ahead of Avatar, which previously had the second best second weekend with $75.6 million.

It ranks 18th on the all-time domestic box office charts. Box Office Mojo predicts it eventually will claim third place on that chart, taking the seat away from The Dark Knight, which claimed it with a $533.3 million total domestic gross.