Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest raked in a record-breaking $132 million at the North American box office this weekend, making the Disney sequel the biggest three-day opener in box office history.
Dead Man’s Chest far surpassed the reigning record holder Spider-Man, which debuted in 2002 with $114.8 million, and did nearly three times the business of its predecessor, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which took in $46.6 million over opening weekend in 2003.
Dead Man’s Chest also took in $55.5 million on its opening day Friday to beat the previous single-day record of $50 million, set last year by Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. And with $44.7 million on Saturday, the swashbuckling sequel became the first movie in history to top $100 million in just two days.
“Maybe the only movie that has a chance to beat this record might be the next Pirates movie,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations, told the Associated Press. Audiences won’t have to wait long. Disney shot much of the third installment at the same time as Dead Man’s Chest, which ends in a cliffhanger leading into part three, due in theaters over Memorial Day weekend next year.
The top 12 movies grossed $206.5 million, up 48.04 percent from last year’s draw of $139.5 and up 43.74 percent from last weekend, which took in $143.6 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: 20th Century Fox’s Fantastic Four, which opened at No. 1 with $56 million in 3,602 theaters, averaging $15,564 per theater; Paramount’s War of the Worlds, which dropped to second place in its second week with $30.4 million in 3,910 theaters, averaging $7,793 per theaters; and Warner Bros. Batman Begins, which dropped to third place in its foruth week with $10 million in 3,344 theaters, averaging $2,994 per theaters (Click here to read last year’s box office report).
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (Buena Vista, PG-13)
• Gross: $132 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 4,133
• Per-theater average: $31,945
No. 2: Superman Returns (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $21.8 million (-58%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 4,065 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $5,375
• Cume to date: $141.6 million
No. 3: The Devil Wears Prada (20th Century Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $15.6 million (-43%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,882 (+35)
• Per-theater average: $5,413
• Cume to date: $63.6 million
No. 4: Click (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $12 million (-40%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,458 (-306)
• Per-theater average: $3,470
• Cume to date: $105.9 million
No. 5: Cars (Buena Vista, G)
• Gross: $10.3 million (-29%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 3,379 (-327)
• Per-theater average: $3,057
• Cume to date: $205.5 million
No. 6: Nacho Libre (Paramount Pictures, PG)
• Gross: $3.3 million (-49%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 2,262 (-820)
• Per-theater average: $1,476
• Cume to date: $73.8 million
No. 7: The Lake House (Warner Bros., PG)
• Gross: $2.8 million (-41%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 2,420 (-225)
• Per-theater average: $1,176
• Cume to date: $45.6 million
No. 8: The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $2.5 million (-44%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 1,868 (-802)
• Per-theater average: $1,338
• Cume to date: $57.4 million
No. 9: Waist Deep (Focus/Rogue, R)
• Gross: $1.8 million (-46%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 864 (-142)
• Per-theater average: $2,154
• Cume to date: $19.1 million
No. 10: The Break-Up (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $1.6 million (-47%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 1,180 (-731)
• Per-theater average: $1,356
• Cume to date: $114.3 million
OTHER OPENINGS
A Scanner Darkly (Warner Indie, R)
• Gross: $406,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 17
• Per-theater average: $23,882
