'Pirates' Passes $500M 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.'

Source :The Associated Press