Walt Disney Pictures’ Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides opened domestically with an estimated $90.1 million from 4,155 theaters for an average of $21,685 per theater this weekend. While that is the biggest debut for a movie of the year so far, the number falls short of the previous two “Pirates” sequels – “Dead Man’s Chest” brought in $135.6 million in 2006 and “At World’s End” took in $114.7 million its first weekend in 2007. The first film, “The Curse of the Black Pearl” grossed $46.6 million domestically its first weekend in 2003. The big story, however, is that “On Stranger Tides” earned a record $256.3 million from about 20,000 screens in 100 foreign markets its first five days, surpassing the previous international record of $236 million set by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in 2009. Worldwide, “On Stranger Tides” has already reached $346.4 million, which marks the fourth-largest global opening ever. The action adventure, directed by Rob Marshall and starring Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane, Kevin R. McNally, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, Sam Claflin and Geoffrey Rush, cost about $250 million to make. Domestically, Universal’s Bridesmaids dropped just 19.% in ticket sales and remained in second place to bring in another $21.1 million its second weekend. The Paul Feig-directed comedy, starring Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper and Melissa McCarthy, has earned $59.5 million compared to its budget of $32.5 million. Paramount Pictures and Marvel Studios’ Thor fell two spots to third with $15.5 million and has reached $145.4 million domestically after three weeks. Internationally, the comic book adaptation added $9 million to bring its foreign total to $247 million after three weeks. That puts the combined worldwide total at $392.4 million so far. Universal’s Fast Five dipped one spot to fourth with $10.6 million and has made $186.2 million in North America after four weeks. Overseas, the sequel grossed $25 million this weekend to bring its total to $320 million. The worldwide total for the $125 million film now stands at an impressive $506.2 million. Fox’s Rio rounded out the top five with $4.7 million its sixth weekend in theaters. The animated film has reached $131.6 million domestically and $316.4 million overseas for a worldwide sum of $448 million. In its second weekend in theaters, Priest lost 69.2% in ticket sales and brought in $4.6 million for a total of $23.7 million. The film cost $60 million to make. Also in limited release, Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris opened in just 6 theaters and earned a strong $579,000 for an average of $96,500 per site. Click here for the full box office results of the top 12 films. Show Comments |