'Pirates' ends the long curse

‘Pirates’ ends the long curse

By Lorenza Munoz

July 14, 2003 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

The traditional pirate movie jinx walked the plank this weekend, with Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” coming in well above expectations at an estimated $46.4 million for a total of $70.4 million since Wednesday.

Unlike previous pirate escapades, which have consistently bombed, the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced adventure -- the first PG-13 film released under the Walt Disney Pictures label -- appears to be scoring big with audiences. Bucking the recent summer trend among some high- profile films of big Friday openings followed by sliding Saturday attendance, “Pirates” rose from Friday ($15 million) to Saturday ($17.5 million).

The cast of Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightley attracted a diverse audience from the four principal demographic quadrants tracked by the studios: male, female, under 25 and over 25.

The film’s distinctiveness, when compared with other films, probably attracted moviegoers, said Oren Aviv, Disney’s president of marketing. It is worth noting that Disney, which did not have any sequels this summer, has had the strongest showing, particularly with the animated Pixar hit, “Finding Nemo,” which has grossed $290.8 million domestically, the most for any film released this year.

The days of Errol Flynn aside, rarely, if ever, has a Hollywood pirate movie done well at the box office, ranging from the 1984 “The Ice Pirates,” which grossed a grand total of $13 million domestic, to Renny Harlin’s “Cutthroat Island,” which grossed a calamitous $9 million in 1995, to the most recent example, DreamWorks’ “Sinbad: The Legend of the Seven Seas,” which has grossed a paltry $19.1 million through its second weekend.

The strong “Pirates” debut helped lift box office overall because other opening films performed stronger than expected.

“The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,” which pre-release research among potential moviegoers indicated would open in the mid- to high teens, brought in a respectable $23.2 million. The audience for that film, which stars Sean Connery and is based on a comic book series that is considerably darker than the movie, was 63% over 25 and 54% male, Fox reported.

Even the third independent feature by twins Mark and Michael Polish, “Northfork,” performed well this weekend. The picture, which stars Nick Nolte, James Woods and Daryl Hannah, grossed an estimated $61,364 in five theaters.

“I Captured the Castle,” from Samuel Goldwyn/IDP, grossed an estimated $52,000 in eight venues in New York and Los Angeles. Palm Pictures’ “The Housekeeper,” a French romantic comedy, tallied an estimated $43,350 in half a dozen theaters in New York, and L.A. Sony Pictures Classics’ “Cuckoo,” an amusing drama set at the end of World War II, took in about $17,200 in six theaters in the same two markets.

In other news, “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” grossed an OK $19.6 million over the weekend, or a 55% drop from its debut last weekend, which is not uncommon for second weekends on big action movies. The film also posted higher numbers Saturday ($7.8 million) than Friday ($6 million). But “T3,” which cost about $200 million to produce, has grossed $110.4 million domestically, so the film has a ways to go before breaking even.

“Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde” grossed $12.3 million over the weekend for a total of $62.8 million.

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Box Office

Preliminary results based on studio projections.

*--* Movie 3-day gross Total (millions)

*--*

*--* Pirates of the Caribbean $46.4 $70.4

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen $23.3 $23.3

Terminator 3 $19.6 $110.5

Legally Blonde 2 $12 $62.9

Finding Nemo $8.2 $290.8

Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle $7.3 $81.7