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The US box office boosted by Pirates of the Caribbean

Tuesday, 02 January 2007

The US box office boosted by Pirates of the Caribbean

The US box office, boosted by hits like Pirates of the Caribbean, is almost 5% up on last year according to figures published in the Hollywood Reporter.

After a disappointing 2005 there was the worry that pressure from piracy, internet downloading and high ticket prices had sent cinema attendance into a downhill slide but movie hits like Pirates of the Caribbean had helped total sales reach an estimated at $9.42bn, (£4.8bn) compared with 2005's $8.99bn (£4.6bn).

Summer box office figures were particularly strong but they diminished as the year ended.

A rise in ticket prices is said to be partly responsible for the increase but actual attendance figures also rose by 3% on the previous year.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest set both an opening-day and single-day record of $55.8m (£28.5m), as well as an opening weekend record of $135.6m (£69m) on its release in July and by the end of the year this film alone had made $423.3m (£216m) in America and over $1bn (£510m) worldwide.

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