PIRATES LOOKS TO LAND $1.2 BILLION BOOTY

Its swash has pretty much buckled in the U.S. where it is earning less at the box-office than its recent predecessors, but Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is plundering the overseas box office with ticket sales thus far of $614.9 million — in just three weeks. That brings its worldwide gross past the $800-million mark to $807 million and it now appears certain to collect at least $1 billion before its voyage ends. (On Tuesday media researchers SNL Kagan predicted that On Stranger Tides will likely see $1.2 billion in revenue by the end of its run.) The last Pirates sequel collected $642.9 million overseas throughout its entire run. Last weekend it earned just $18 million domestically but $87.4 million overseas. The film has been helped abroad by the fact that 3D is just being introduced in many markets and is therefore somewhat of a novelty and also by the rise of most foreign currencies against the dollar.