As "Spider-Man 3" breaks box office records, its studio Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) is about to hit milestone that's not worth celebrating.

The Japanese conglomerate may report its worst quarterly loss in four years tomorrow because of lackluster sales of the PlayStation 3, according to Bloomberg News. The company's movie division, of course, is a bright spot for Chief Executive Howard Stringer.

But before investors' spidey senses start tingling, some reality is in order.

For one thing, "Spider-Man 3" was an extremely expensive film to make. Media reports say it was the costliest film in the history of Hollywood. Radar magazine pegs the price tag at $500 million, Sony says the figure is closer to $270 million.

Everyone agrees that it rewrote the rulebook in Hollywood.

First of all, I can't believe I just typed that headline. Actually, of course I can. Keith Richards - storied guitarist, half of the venerable song-writing team that brought us "Satisfaction" and "Start Me Up," and perpetual name on the celebrity death pool lists - has admitted to snorting cocaine laced with his father's ashes. Since the senior Richards didn't die until 2002, this unconventional use of human remains didn't occur when Keith was in his young-and-stupid heyday, but obviously transpired sometime during the past five years.

Richards, who perhaps thought the move was a touching tribute to his passed-on paternal figure, told this tidbit to British music magazine NME, adding "My dad wouldn't have cared ... it went down pretty well, and I'm still alive." In a rush for damage control, the Rolling Stones' manager brushed it off as an April Fool's joke, calling it an "off-the-cuff remark."

Keith is known for decades of wild living and excess, so this latest detail, if true, isn't even really that shocking. No word yet on Walt Disney's (NYSE: DIS) official reaction, however. May 25 marks the release of the third installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean series and will feature Keith Richards in the role of Teague Sparrow, Captain Jack Sparrow's (Johnny Depp's character's) father.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.