‘The Hangover II’ dominated the box office this weekend with $86.5 million, reports Entertainment Weekly.

The film’s debut is the best weekend opening ever for a live-action comedy, beating ‘Austin Powers in Goldmember‘s’ $73.1 million debut. It’s also the second-best opening for an R-rated film, topping ‘The Passion of the Christ’ but falling short of ‘The Matrix Reloaded.’

By comparison, the original ‘Hangover’ made less than half that amount, making $59.2 million its first five days.

In second place was ‘Kung Fu Panda 2,’ with the animated martial-arts comedy grossing $48 million over the weekend. That’s a step down from the 2008 original, which debuted to $60.2 million.

In third place is ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,’ which dropped 56 percent for a weekend gross of $39.3 million.

‘Bridesmaids‘ slipped only 22 percent for $16.4 million, coming in at fourth, which is pretty impressive considering that the R-rated comedy had to compete with ‘The Hangover II.’ Action flick ‘Thor’ came in at fifth with $9.4 million.

I knew that the ‘Hangover’ sequel would do well, but I’m pretty satisfied that ‘Bridesmaids’ is still doing well too since the film actually deserves the success.

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The new ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,’ which stars Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz, opened big abroad this weekend.

The pirate-action flick will open in 4,155 North American theaters on Friday, already having debuted in 70 countries. Right now, the flick is scoring huge in the first 10 countries it opened in, posting $18.5M. This tops the $12.3M that ‘Pirates 3′ made.

So far, ‘Pirates 4′ has the biggest opening day ever in Russia with an industry record-breaker of RBL130M/$5M, beating the previous high set by ‘Twilight’ (RBL122M). France took in €2.1M/$3.1M, while very strong starts occurred in the UK, Italy, and Sweden.

Disney is looking for a big global first weekend, with 65% of the foreign markets opening before the U.S and Canada opens Friday. In total, ‘Pirates 4′ is debuting in more than 70 countries for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

People are crazy about ‘Pirates,’ and more specifically, about Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow. I personally stopped watching after the second one, but this one sounds like it may be worth checking out. It’ll definitely perform well here, it’s a huge action blockbuster.

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According to The Hollywood Reporter, the script for Pirates of the Caribbean 5 has been turned in by Terry Rossio, the co-writer of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Rossio turned the script in for a fifth possible movie in the franchise. However, this is Rossio’s first solo effort writing a Pirates film without the help from Ted Elliot. Producer, Jerry Bruckheimer is reportedly still interested in continuing the franchise and making a fifth film. Bruckheimer has also apparently approached Rob Marshall to direct the  project although there is no word of his decision.

Johnny Depp says that he hasn’t seen the screenplay yet. Perhaps Jack Sparrow is getting a little tired of his oceanic debauchery.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides premieres next week in France at the Cannes Film Festival. It will have its wide release on May 20 in 3D and IMAX.

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While Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and The Rum Diary are set to be released in 2011, Johnny Depp just can’t seem to get enough of mingling with the strange and bizarre. According to celebrity-gossip.net, Depp was seen wandering the streets of London, England Wednesday night with his pal Keith Richards. Depp and Richards were both wearing fedoras and looking conspicuously like pirates.

Supposedly the character of Captain Jack Sparrow was based on Richard’s actual persona. Depp has exemplified a true knack at embodying deranged characters on screen from his early role as Edward Scissorhands to portraying the late and great Ed Wood. Apparently during the filming of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Depp  attained the ability to play Hunter Thompson better than Thompson could play himself. Depp will reprise his roll as the eccentric Dr. Gonzo in The Rum Diary.

Depp has displayed an obvious fascination with enigmatic people. He is currently working on a documentary that chronicles Richard’s wild life. However, is another Pirates of the Caribbean in the works? Judging by the popularity of the franchise a 5th film seems likely. So, is Depp hanging out with Richards to further his research on the beloved rum swilling vagabond character by leaching off the pirate himself? Surely Richards has a few more tricks up his sleeve.

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Jude Law, Kiera Knightley and James Earl Jones are among the nominees for the 2010 Laurence Olivier theatre awards, reports CBC.

Jones and Law are nominated for best actor for their roles in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Hamlet, respectively. Pirates of the Caribbean‘s Knightley is being considered for her supporting role in The Misanthrope.

Melanie Chisolm of the Spice Girls is up for best actress in a musical for Blood Brothers, while Mr. Bean‘s Rowan Atkinson is nominated for best actor as Fagan in Oliver! Spring Awakening received seven nominations, including one for best new musical.

Winners of the Olivier awards, Britain’s equivalent of the Tonys, will be announced March 21 at a ceremony in London.

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It’s not a pirate’s life for him anymore, apparently.

Orlando Bloom, star of the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies, will not be returning for the fourth installment of the Disney franchise, according to perezhilton.com.

The latest movie is set to be released next year. It has not been confirmed whether or not Johnny Depp will be returning as well to reprise his role as the frivolous Captain Jack Sparrow.

“Will’s swimming with the fishes,” said Bloom of Will Turner, his character in the movies.

When asked if he would come back for the next film, he reportedly replied, “Not this time. No. No. No.”

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“Pirates of the Caribbean” director Gore Verbinski has jumped off deck and will not be directing the fourth installment of the Disney film, according to Variety.

“I had a fantastic time bringing ‘Pirates’ to life, and I am eternally grateful to Jerry [Bruckheimer], Johnny and the rest of the creative and production team,” Verbinski said to Variety. “I’m looking forward to all of us crossing paths again in the future.” 

Instead, Verbinski is set to work on “Bioshock,” based on the video game, according to Variety.The game tells the story of a man stranded in an underwater city.

Johnny Depp fans can relax because the actor is supposed to reprise the role of Captain Jack Sparrow. However, it doesn’t look like all of Depp’s cast-mates will be returning to the franchise. 

Keira Knightley has previously told MTV News that she’d like to do “different things” but outlined she had an “amazing journey” with the past three “Pirates of the Caribbean” films.

There has been no official word on whether Orlando Bloom will be returning in the movies as Will Turner.

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Cap’n Jack is back. The witty, rum drinking, sword fighting pirate character played by A-list actor Johnny Depp, will be back for more adventures in a fourth “Pirates of the Caribbean” film.

According to Variety, the 45-year-old actor has signed on for a fourth installment for the Disney franchise which has earned a combined $2.6 billion at the box office. However, the film is believed to be focusing on solely Jack Sparrow, as co-stars Orlando Bloom (Will Turner) and Keira Knightley (Elizabeth Swan) have insisted that they’re finished with the franchise.

As a result, the movie which is supposedly set to start production in 2011, will likely consist of Sparrow setting sail on his own story line, possibly for the Fountain of Youth.

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Actresses Kate Bosworth and Lindsay Lohan were photographed leaving a Tommy Hilfiger party together last night.

The new BFFs were only a couple of many celebs who were invited to the exclusive Tommy party which featured a performance by Lenny Kravitz.

Bosworth also sported new boyfriend, British model James Rousseau, on her arm as she left the party. She broke up with actor and long-time boyfriend Orlando Bloom last month.

Tommy Hilfiger hosted the party to celebrate the opening of his new store in Paris, France.

Photo courtesy of justjared.com.

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“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” has nabbed the third spot on the list of the world’s most successful films at the box office.

Distributor Walt Disney Co. said on Saturday that ticket sales for the film had hit $1.003 billion U.S, according to Reuters. It is the third movie in film history to pass the billion dollar mark.

However, it is unlikely that “Pirates” will work its way any higher, now that its theatrical run is coming to a close.

“Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” holds spot number two with $1.1 billion in sales, while “Titanic” tops the list with $1.8 billion.

Still, the box office take far surpasses that of the franchise’s first film, “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.” The 2003 film only brought in $656 million in ticket sales worldwide.

The next film in the series, titled “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” is currently shooting in Los Angeles and will hopefully hit theatres in May 2007.

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On-again-off-again couple Kate Bosworth and Orlando Bloom are off again, reports Entertainment Tonight.

The couple, who have dated over the last four years, decided to go their separate ways as Bloom, 29, is filming Pirates of the Caribbean in Southern California.

Bosworth, 23, and Bloom are scheduled to film a movie, Seasons of Dust, together this fall. The drama is about a young woman whose uncle commits suicide, forcing her to run away with a dashing thief.

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For the second week in a row, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” was the number one film at the North American Box Office this weekend, Reuters reports.

It took in $62.2 million, bringing its 10 day total to $258.2 million, and the film is expected to surpass the $300 million mark by the weekend.

Second place went to “Little Man” starring the Wayans brothers with $21.7 million, while “You Me & Dupree” was in a close third with $21.3 million.

“Superman Returns” crashed into fourth with $11.6 million and “The Devil Wears Prada” fell to fifth from third with $10.4 million.

Rounding out the rest of the top 10 were: “Cars” with $7.5 million; “Click” starring Adam Sandler with $7 million; “The Lake House” with $1.57 million; “Nacho Libre” with $1.52 million and the new flick “A Scanner Darkly” with $1.1 million.

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Superman’s weakness may be kryptonite, but he may have another one – pirates.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” not only raked in gold in its opening weekend at the box office, but it has also set a couple of records.

The Johnny Depp flick took in $132 million, making it number one for the weekend, and also the highest grossing opening weekend since “Spiderman” in 2002, the Associated Press reports.

It also set a record on Friday for the highest grossing opening day since “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” last year. And, to add to all of that, the film also took in more money than the 12 films below it.

“Superman Returns” was in second place, taking in only $21.85 million ? over 50 per cent less than its opening weekend last weekend. “The Devil Wears Prada” was number three, taking in $15.6 million.

The rest of the top 10 were: “Click” at number four with $12 million; “Cars” at number five with $10.3 million; the Jack Black flick “Nacho Libre” was sixth with $3.3 million; “The Lake House” at seventh with $2.8 million; “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” was eighth with $2.5 million; “Waist Deep” was ninth with $1.9 million; and “The Break-Up” rounded out the top 10 with $1.6 million.

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Rolling Stones guitarist Keither Richards, the inspiration for Johnny Depp’s performance as Captain Jack Sparrow, is set to play the buckaneer’s father in the third “Pirates of the Caribbean” film.

Movie database website IMDb lists Richards in the cast of the as-yet-untitled project, and Depp all but confirmed the musician’s appearance.

“We’re all looking forward to the idea of Keith coming in and doing a cameo, and it’s looking very, very good,” the actor said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

The 62-year-old Richards is currently preparing to resume touring with his band after suffering a head injury in Fiji.

“Pirates” star Orlando Bloom made light of the injury when asked about the cameo. Bloom said he’d love to see Richards playing the role “if he doesn’t kill himself falling out of a coconut tree.”

“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dean Man’s Chest,” the second film in the series, opens on Friday.

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