'Chest' fills tills
Bucs sail again o'seas
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Sequel raked it in over the weekend, bowing in 11 new markets to add $62 million to its coffers.
Pic, which has now grossed $217 overseas, became the 20th Buena Vista Intl. title to cross the $200 million barrier abroad and the 10th to plunder more than $500 million worldwide.
Perhaps the only real surprise over the weekend would have come had "Pirates" been bested in any of its new territories, which included Japan, Mexico and Brazil as well as a host of smaller ones (Hungary, Portugal, Poland) and some challenging terrain for Hollywood pics (India).
There are still major openings to come: Pic has yet to open in Spain, Germany, Italy and France.
In head-to-head square-offs around the globe, "Pirates" forced Warner Bros.' No. 2 finisher of the frame, "Superman Returns," to walk the plank every time.
As "Superman's" strength began to weaken, so did overall B.O.: Top five films abroad raised just $104.9 million for Hollywood vs. last weekend's $127.4 million.
"Pirates," playing on 5,100 screens, was No. 1 in all 11 of its new bows. And more than half of the pic's weekend total, roughly $32.4 million, came from new openings.
In Japan, where action usually scores big, "Pirates" swashbuckled its way to $17.3 million, scoring the third biggest opening of all time there.
Pic quadrupled the take of the first "Pirates" installment.
Mexico also saw "Pirates" take over: Territory coughed up $5.8 million, likely the turf's fifth biggest opener ever. Brazil poured in another $3.1 million, doubling the first pic's take.
"Pirates" was the biggest opener of the year in Poland ($1.5 million), Argentina ($1.3 million) and Chile ($1.1 million).
In holdover markets, "Pirates" also continued to shiver the timbers of the competish.
After three frames in the U.K., sequel dropped a respectable 39% to add nearly $7 million to its stash. In Blighty, movie crossed $62 million in 17 days of release.
In Russia, "Pirates" slashed another $5 million from local fans' wallets. Pic has pillaged $20 million-plus in 10 days there, more than doubling the take of BVI's "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."
In Korea, known in the industry as a "fast burn" market where pics come and go each weekend, "Pirates" dipped just 35%, taking in $2.9 million to bring its market total to $22.2 million.
The film also was tops Down Under.
'Superman' moolah
With no major openings on its side, Warner Bros.' "Superman Returns" flew in with $16.3 million from 5,900 prints in 40 markets. International cume is $110 million.
"Superman" finished No. 2 behind "Pirates" in the U.K., Mexico and Brazil but muscled a No. 1 finish in its second weekend playing France ($1.7 million).
Spain -- where "Superman" punched out $1.2 million -- was still up for grabs. UIP was estimating its "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" had skidded into the No. 1 slot with $1.5 million.
"Superman," meantime, was sitting pretty in Hong Kong, where the pic landed at No. 1 in its second frame and is outplaying past superhero tentpoles, including the latest "X-Men" film and "Batman Begins."
Animated business
UIP's "Over the Hedge" and BVI's "Cars" continued Hollywood's roll abroad with high-profile CG-animated fare: Both crossed the $100 million mark.
Without "Pirates" ashore, Germany's fave pic over the frame was "Over the Hedge," which pruned $1.8 million to raise its local cume to $11.5 million.
With its German finish, "Hedge" lopped off about $9.6 million from 4,080 screens, and "Cars" tuned up another $8 million by playing 4,900 screens.
UIP's "Tokyo Drift" managed to come from behind and clip "Cars" to pull into the No. 4 spot on the charts.
Teen-skewing gearhead pic picked up $9 million from 2,260 dates in 35 territories and revved its international total to $55 million.
Sleeper -- which held pole position in Italy and Austria for the frame -- has yet to hit the track in 20 further markets, including Brazil, Taiwan and Japan, where the pic is set.
Below the top five, "The Break-Up" grossed $5.3 million at 1,314 screens, spanning 20 territories, highlighted by a No. 3 finish in Blighty. Movie has hit $31 million to date.
In other action, Sony's "The Da Vinci Code" discovered another $1.9 million from 1,800 screens across 50 markets, bringing its overseas tally to $525.1 million. Pic is now the No. 10 highest-grossing film ever overseas, passing "Finding Nemo" at $525 million.
Fox's "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" took in about $1 million from 210 screens overseas.
Sony comedy "Little Man" has taken in a wee $2.5 million to date after adding $810,000 from four markets over the weekend.
UIP's comedy "Nacho Libre" wrestled $205,000 from 25 locations in Singapore and $83,000 from 38 screens in the Philippines, where B.O. was pummeled by a typhoon.
"United 93" took in another $1.1 million from 550 dates in 12 territories, bringing its total to $13.2 million.
