'Pirates' plunders box office gold

'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' breaks a bunch of box office records.

Jul 10 2006

Johnny Depp's Keith Richards impression did it again over the weekend as 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's' Chest' smashed box office records to smithereens in the States.

In spite of average reviews across the board, the swashbuckling sequel grossed a whopping $132 million from Friday to Sunday, destroying the three-day record set by 'Spider-Man' four years ago.

It also scored the biggest single-day total in box office history with $55.5 million on Friday, and by Saturday it had become the first film to break the $100 million barrier in two days.

With a $46.6 million international haul, 'Dead Man's Chest' firmly established itself as the blockbuster of the year, and Disney executives will be celebrating today as their decision to shoot two 'Pirates' sequels back-to-back means that the studio will doubtless have another equally lucrative weekend this time next year.

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