'Pirates 4' Revives German Box Office Spoils

COLOGNE, Germany - Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides boosted box office booty in Germany in the first half of 2011 to above levels of last year, making up for a weak first quarter. Rob Marshall's pirating adventure starring Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz has taken in around $60 million for Walt Disney in Germany so far.

our editor recommends

'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' Approaching $700 Million in Overseas Gross, Disney's Biggest Foreign Title Ever.

Together with a handful of other Hollywood hits - including Universal's Fast & Furious Five and Paramount's Thor - Pirates helped Germany's box office bounce back from a soft first quarter. According to figures from Rentrak EDI, box office revenue in the territory in the first six months of 2011 was close to $580 million (€409 million), up from €406 million over the same period last year.

Total attendance held steady at 54.31 million tickets sold, down marginally format he 54.67 million sold in the first half of 2010 but pricey 3D tickets more than made up for the drop. Exhibitors are optimistic summer releases will continue the positive trend. Already Kung Fu Panda 2 and Hangover 2, released here by Paramount and Warner Bros. respectively, have performed well and hopes are high for sure-bet tentpoles including Transformers: Dark of the Moon and  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows 2.