BREAKING NEWS –Johnny Depp arrives in Japan to promote CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY!

An enormous and very excited crowd of Japanese fans greeted Johnny Depp as he arrived in Tokyo today; fans were celebrating his return to Japan after a ten-year absence. Johnny and Tim Burton will have a press conference tomorrow to promote CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, and will walk the red carpet for the Japanese premiere of CATCF on September 5th. The photo at left shows Johnny entering the airport concourse and waving to fans; to see a larger version, click HERE. The Zone thanks Gilbert’s Girl for breaking the news of Johnny’s arrival, emma for the photo of Johnny, and deppink for this amazing shot of the airport CROWD. We expect plenty of news stories and new photos to arrive this weekend–check the News & Views forum and Recent Pics regularly for updates.

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY passes the $200 million mark in North America!

On September 3rd, Tim Burton’s CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, starring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka, passed the $200 million mark in North American ticket sales, making it the most commercially successful Burton-Depp film ever. The previous Burton-Depp box office champ, 1999’s SLEEPY HOLLOW, grossed slightly over $100 million domestically. CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY is currently the fourth highest-grossing film of 2005, behind STAR WARS EPISODE 3: REVENGE OF THE SITH; WAR OF THE WORLDS; and BATMAN BEGINS.

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY is also doing very well in overseas markets, where ticket sales now total $141 million, bringing the film’s total gross to more than $342 million so far. The Zone thanks sandstorm and emma for the box office news. Congratulations to Johnny, Tim, Freddie Highmore, David Kelly, and the entire cast and crew of CATCF on their outstanding achievement!