Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest plundered North American Theaters with a king-size ransom taking in an estimated $132 Million in its opening weekend.
Studio Estimates released Sunday blew away expert analysis for its 3-day opening take which had placed it in the $100 million range. The previous record was held by "Spiderman" with $115 million in its initial run.
The Force was strong with "Pirates", derailing Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith as the one-day record holder with a $55 Million dollar opening night. "Sith" had opened with $50 million in May 2005.
2003's "The Curse of the Black Pearl" opened with $46.8 million. In "Dead Mans Chest" the story returns us to the tale of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) leading a band of charismatic characters on a high-seas adventure. A Third film is in the works for the summer of 2007.
Despite lackluster reviews virtually every demographic came out to see "Pirates" with it playing well for both males and females, young and old. Much of this can be attributed to the success of it as a family film as well as a solid summer blockbuster.
"Superman Returns" dropped to #2 in its second week with estimates of its total haul being less than the studio spent to make the film. Warner Brothers executives hope to make up the difference in DVD and merchandising sales.
Tags: box office
