3rd Pirate Movie Exceeds Half-Billion Dollar Mark Worldwide

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The third installment of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films passed the $500 million mark worldwide in 20 days, including a record opening in China for the film’s distributor, The Walt Disney Co.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” starring Johnny Depp, opened on 17,500 screens internationally around the same time as its domestic debut and earned $506 million as of Wednesday, the studio said Wednesday.

The film also took in $1.3 million on its opening day in China on Tuesday, the studio said.

That’s a record for the studio, which played the film at 506 locations across the country — its widest release in China ever.

Domestically, the film has taken in $253 million as of Sunday after three weeks in theaters.

The Chinese version of “Pirates” was slightly shorter than the original after censors insisted bits of the film be cut.

Disney excised some of the scenes featuring Chow Yun-Fat as Chinese pirate Captain Sao Feng after the Chinese objected due to “cultural sensitivities,” Disney said.

“They weren’t quite ecstatic with how the Chinese pirate was portrayed,” Anthony Marcoly, distribution chief at Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Distribution International, said. “He’s still prevalent throughout the movie, though.”