Thousands upon thousands of moviegoers jammed North American multiplexes for midnight showings of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST as the movie went into wide release just before the stroke of midnight on July 7th. On-line ticket agency Fandango reports that DEAD MAN’S CHEST is now their top day-before-opening ticket-seller, besting the previous record-holder, HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE, and knocking STAR WARS: REVENGE OF THE SITH down to third place. Fandango sold more tickets on Thursday than any other day of the year, surpassing the opening day sales for THE DA VINCI CODE, X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, and SUPERMAN RETURNS.

Fandango adds that DEAD MAN’S CHEST broke Fandango’s hourly sales record for the day before a film’s opening, and that for several hours on Thursday, DEAD MAN’S CHEST was selling an average of seven tickets per second. On Thursday, 91% of all the ticket sales recorded on Fandango were for one movie: DEAD MAN’S CHEST.

“PIRATES’ advance ticket sales have been truly extraordinary,” says Chuck Davis, the Chairman of Fandango, “and we expect to break even more records on Friday. You don’t usually see this kind of enthusiasm until the final installment of a franchise, so this bodes well for the series’ future.” Congratulations to the cast and crew of DEAD MAN’S CHEST! You can read all the box office news on the Zone’s News & Views forum, and Zoners’ reactions to the film on the Porch.