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'Pirates' becomes year's top-grossing film
2006-07-17
Movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" poster: Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann |
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"Pirates of the Caribbean" is looking more like "Treasure Island." Already a record-shattering blockbuster, Johnny Depp's sequel "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" dug up $62.2 million in its second weekend, raising its 10-day total to $258.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The movie has quickly become the year's top-grossing film, rocketing past "X-Men: The Last Stand," which has taken in $232 million in eight weeks. The "Pirates" sequel has grossed an additional $125 million overseas. "It's really fun when you're riding a comet like this," said Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney, which based the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies on its theme park attraction. "This thing is just unbelievable. It creates its own wake." Sony's "Little Man," the Wayans brothers' slapstick farce about a pint-size thief masquerading as a baby, opened as the No. 2 movie with $21.7 million. The tale stars Shawn and Marlon Wayans, who co-wrote it with brother Keenen Ivory Wayans, the director. Universal's comedy "You, Me and Dupree," starring Owen Wilson as a houseguest causing chaos for a buddy and his new bride (Matt Dillon and Kate Hudson), debuted at No. 3 with $21.3 million. Hollywood's business dipped for the first time in two months. After eight straight weekends of rising revenues, overall receipts totaled $156 million, down 5 percent from the same weekend last year, when Depp also was at the top of the box office with "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Still, the second weekend gross for "Dead Man's Chest" topped the debut of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," which opened with $56.2 million. "Dead Man's Chest" had the third-best second weekend ever, behind "Shrek 2" ($72.2 million) and "Spider-Man" ($71.4 million). By next weekend, "Dead Man's Chest" should climb past the $305 million domestic total rung up by its predecessor, 2003's "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," Disney's Viane said. "Dead Man's Chest" debuted with $135.6 million over the opening weekend, beating the previous record of $114.8 million set by "Spider-Man" in 2002. Ending with a cliffhanger, "Dead Man's Chest" will be closely followed by a third "Pirates" movie due out next May, with Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley and other co-stars on a voyage to rescue Depp's rakish pirate Capt. Jack Sparrow. "Huge expectations. 'Pirates 2' is maybe the toughest act in box-office history to follow," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "'Pirates 3' is the definition of a predestined blockbuster." After a strong start in narrow release the previous weekend, Warner Independent's sci-fi drug-addiction tale "A Scanner Darkly" expanded to more theaters and broke into the top 10 with $1.2 million. The movie, featuring Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder and Robert Downey Jr., was shot in live action then painted over with digital animation. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday. 1. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," $62.2 million. 2. "Little Man," $21.7 million. 3. "You, Me and Dupree," $21.3 million. 4. "Superman Returns," $11.6 million. 5. "The Devil Wears Prada," $10.45 million. 6. "Cars," $7.5 million. 7. "Click," $7 million. 8. "The Lake House," $1.6 million. 9. "Nacho Libre," $1.5 million. 10. "A Scanner Darkly," $1.2 million. ___ Universal Pictures and Focus Features are owned by NBC Universal, a joint venture of General Electric Co. and Vivendi Universal; DreamWorks is a unit of DreamWorks SKG Inc.; Sony Pictures, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE).; Paramount and Paramount Classics are divisions of Viacom Inc.; Disney's parent is The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is a division of The Walt Disney Co.; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight Pictures are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros., New Line, Warner Independent and Picturehouse are units of Time Warner Inc.; Lionsgate is owned by Lionsgate Entertainment Corp.; IFC Films is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.
"X-Men" vs. "Superman": Fox has hit, Warners has Singer (2006-08-18)Fox to sell movies on IGN, MySpace (2006-08-14)'Pirates' becomes year's top-grossing film (2006-07-17)"Pirates" reviews mixed ahead of key debut (2006-07-05)Hollywood clings to box-office lead (2006-07-03)
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