BURBANK, California, September 10 /PRNewswire/ --
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," the swashbuckling summer blockbuster from Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films, added a new milestone on Friday, September 8, 2006 when it officially crossed the US$1 billion mark (US$1,002.6 billion) at the global box office, and became only the third film in history (behind "Titanic" and "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King") to achieve this extraordinary feat, it was announced today, Saturday, September 09, 2006, by Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios.
The film, which continues to break records around the world (i), has topped the international box office for nine consecutive weeks. Thus far, "Pirates" has grossed an astonishing US$415.1 million at the domestic box office, making it the #1 film of the year. Internationally, its cumulative tally now stands at US$587.5 million, also making it the number #1 film of the year. "Pirates" is scheduled to open in Italy on September 13, 2006.
Commenting on the announcement, Cook said, "To say we are excited is an understatement. This is truly an historical time for The Walt Disney Studios and a time to celebrate. 'Pirates' continues to perform on all cylinders and this is a real tribute to the remarkable team of Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski, Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, and writers Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio. The film's phenomenal success all over the world proves once again that audiences will vote to come back again and again when presented with great entertainment."
Cook continued, "I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how proud we are of our other summer successes including 'CARS,' 'Step Up,' and 'Invincible.' It's a summer that you dream about and it came together with amazing talent and diverse stories that everyone could relate to."
(i) SOME SEAWORTHY BOX OFFICE RECORDS AND STATISTICS FOR "PIRATES OF THE
CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST
Crossed the US$1 billion mark in record time (reaching that milestone in
an unprecedented nine weeks compared to ten weeks for previous record
holder, "Lord of the Rings 3").
Domestic
-- Highest three-day opening in box-office history (US$135.6 million)
-- First film in box office history to pass US$100 million in only two
days
-- Tied as fastest film in history to reach US$200 million (8 days)
-- Fastest film in box office history to pass US$300 million (16 days)
-- Passed the US$305.4 million final gross of its predecessor (PIRATES OF
THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL) in the same 16 days as
above
-- Opening day gross (US$55.8 million) is highest single-day gross in
box-office history
-- PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST is the 51st film in
Buena Vista history to pass US$100 million in gross, the most of any
studio
-- PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST is the 13th film in
Buena Vista history to pass US$200 million in gross, the most of any
studio
-- PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST is the highest
grossing film in Buena Vista history and the sixth highest grossing
film of all time (US$414.0 million through 9/4/06 and still
counting!)
International
-- PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST is the biggest
international release of 2006.
-- It is the sixth biggest film ever released internationally.
-- The film is the most popular international release in the history of
The Walt Disney Studios.
-- Since its initial weekend of release overseas, PIRATES OF THE
CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST has ranked #1 for nine consecutive
weekends in a row. This is the longest consecutive weekend reign of
any film this century (and surpasses the previous record of seven
weekends held by PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL
back in 2003.
-- Biggest BVI opening of all-time: Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Brazil,
Croatia, Czech, Egypt, Estonia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary,
Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Korea,
Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, So. Africa, Malaysia, Holland,
New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal,
Qatar, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, UAE, Ukraine,
Uruguay, Venezuela
-- Biggest BVI film of all time: Argentina, Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Chile, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Jordan,
Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Norway, Oman, Russia, Singapore,
Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, UAE, UK
-- Biggest industry opening of All Time: Greece, Russia, Spain
-- Biggest US film of all time: Russia
-- 52nd in BVI history to pass US$100M in gross, the most of any studio
-- 19th in BVI history to pass US$200M in gross, the most of any studio
