"Pirates" sets new box office records in North America

"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" made box office history Sunday, raking in estimated 132 million dollars over the weekend, the highest amount ever for an opening.

"Pirates" smashed the previous opening record of 114.8 million dollars set by "Spider-Man" in May 2002.

The Disney film also became the first one to bring in more than 100 million dollars in just two days and set the highest single- day gross in box office history with 55.5 million dollars, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

"Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" previously had the highest single-day gross with 50 million dollars set in May 2005.

"Pirates," a sequel starring Johnny Depp, brought in 100.2 million dollars in its first two days at theaters since Friday.

The string of records is good news for Hollywood, which has seen eight straight "up" weeks at the box office, including several blockbusters, including "Superman Returns" and Disney-Pixar's animated "Cars."

Box office revenue for the year to date was up 3.2 percent to 4. 96 billion dollars, from 4.66 billion last year, while attendance was up 3.2 percent, according to Exhibitor Relations.

In second place over the weekend was "Superman Returns," with estimated 21.9 million dollars, and "The Devil Wears Prada" came third with about 15.6 million dollars.

The Adam Sandler comedy "Click" was in fourth place with about 12 million dollars and "Cars" slipped to fifth with 10.3 million, bringing its total to 205.5 million dollars since its debut more than one months ago.

Source: Xinhua