PIRATES PLUNDERS BOX OFFICE

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl’s box office treasure amounted to $46.4 million in its first weekend.

Overall box office revenues were up slightly, ending a string of four down weekends. The top 12 movies grossed $140 million, up 3.5% from the same weekend last year. For the year, Hollywood receipts are running about 5% behind 2002 revenues.

Based on the Disney theme-park attraction, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, starring Johnny Depp, has taken in $70.4 million since opening Wednesday.

Debuting in second place was Sean Connery’s superhero adventure The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which had a $23.25 million opening weekend.

Pirates of the Caribbean commandeered the box office lead from the previous weekend's No. 1 flick, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, which fell to third place with $19.6 million. Terminator 3 pushed its 12-day total to $110.5 million.

Finding Nemo, the year's top-grossing movie, was No. 5 for the weekend with $8.2 million, lifting its total to $290.8 million.

The surreal fairy tale Northfork debuted strongly in limited release, taking in $61,000 at five theaters.

Meanwhile, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, came in fourth with $12 million.