Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is coasting towards becoming one of only eight films to have reached the magic $1,000,000,000 (£620m) mark in cinema sales.
The fourth in the Pirates franchise has already become Disney‘s biggest ever earner overseas, leaping over the first Pirates sequel Dead Man’s Chest and last year’s Alice In Wonderland, with $695m (£430m) and counting.
Domestically, however, On Stranger Tides has fared less well. At present it stands at $210m, almost half of what Dead Man’s Chest earned in the US.
Surprisingly, considering its budget was twice as much, On Stranger Tides is only $5m ahead of Fast Five based on US ticket sales. Yet the foreign market looks set to account for over 75% of Pirates‘ take, seeing it firmly nestle in the ‘Billion Dollar Club’.
As of June 16, 2011, the seven films to reach one billion dollars are The Dark Knight, Alice In Wonderland, Toy Story 3, Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Lord Of The Rings: Return of the King, Titanic and, sitting at the number one spot with $2.78 billion (£1.72 billion) is James Cameron‘s Avatar.
Mauled by many critics, On Stranger Tides will stand as the lowest ranked film when it makes it into the Box Office Top 10, according to Rotten Tomatoes, with an overall score of 33%.
Johnny Depp recently stated he has no plans to stop playing the role of Captain Jack Sparrow if there’s a market for it, saying, “We do it for the people. So long as people want it, I’m there.”
Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is out in cinemas now.