‘Pirates’ sails into strong opening day

Sparked by the out-of-the-dock popularity of Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” this week’s box office is shaping up to be significantly better than last week’s. On its opening day Wednesday, the swashbuckling live-action film, which stars Johnny Depp, grossed $13.7 million.

Although “Pirates” beat the $12.4 million opening of “Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines,” the highest grossing midweek opening remains “Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace,” which grossed $28.5 million on May 19, 1999.

“Terminator 3,” showed decent numbers during the week, grossing $5.7 million on Monday, $5 million on Tuesday and $4 million on Wednesday. It is expected to hit a total of $90 million by Friday. It was released on July 2. “Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde” has grossed $48.2 million since its release that same day.

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Lorenza Munoz