From cinemablend, Summer got into full swing this weekend with the first major anticipated blockbuster arriving in theaters.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides swash-buckled onto the scene with a year-to-date best opening of $90 million. While that's no skin off an old flint's nose, it is the lowest debut total for a Pirates of the Caribbean movie since the first in the series Curse of the Black Pearl.
Of course Captain Jack Sparrow and mates are hardly hurting for booty. When you roll in sales around the world the movie has banked a whopping $346 million so far, a good deal over it's extravagant $250 million budget.
Overall On Stranger Tides may have seen a dip in box office performance from its predecessors, but it's proven that even with a major cast overhaul and a new general direction, the franchise is still worth its weight in buried pirate treasure.
What does this cash influx mean for the overall ailing box office? Total sales (bloated 3D ticket prices and all) are still more than 10% down from where they were this time last year which means ticket sales numbers are even lower. But there may be hope. June's line up of sequels to popular franchises could spell a recovery for ticket sales.
Meanwhile three week-old Thor didn't just drop from first place. The superhero slipped all the way to third place sliding past popular Bridesmaids which lost only 20% of its ticket sales from last weekend.
