Pirates Of The Caribbean:Dead Man's Chest will join an eliteclub when it crosses $1bn at the global box office this weekend and may evenreach the milestone today [8].

Disney's blockbuster has amassed $998.5m worldwide and currently ranks as theseventh biggest international release of all time through Buena VistaInternational (BVI) on $584.1m.

It will overtake The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers' $584.5m mark today to become the sixth biggestoverseas picture in history, matching its domestic ranking.

The picture has dominated the international box office arena for the past nineweekends and has a shot at making it ten.

Meanwhile BVI executives were also anticipating strong results for Pixar's Cars as it opened in German-speaking territories on Sept7.

That picture stands at $173.9m and is projected to cross $200m, with Italy andScandinavia going strong and debuts still to come in Thailand, Greece andTurkey.

Fox International has a big weekend ahead for X-Men: The Last Stand, which could take this weekend's overseas crown andlaunches in its final two major markets in Asia.

The action instalment has amassed $207.3m to date and opens in China on Sept 8and Japan a day later.

The Sundance hit Little Miss Sunshine is in the early stages of release and will get a big boost when it goesout in France on Sept 6 and the UK two days later.

The family sequel Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties opens in Australia on Sept 7 and is steadily makingits way towards $100m on $91.7m.

Comedy John Tucker Must Die alsolaunches in Australia and has taken $7m from the early stages of release.Another comedy, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, has taken $17.1m to date and launches in seven territories includingArgentina on Sept 7.

Latest figures put the comedy Confetti, which opens in Germany on Sept 7, on $4.4m; and thriller TheSentinel on $24.9m with a SouthKorean debut set for Sept 7.

If X-Men: The Last Stand doesn'tusurp Dead Man's Chest as the newchampion, Universal's Miami Viceis a strong candidate to rank number one in the overseas arena this weekend.

The thriller has grossed more than $64.5m and launches in seven territoriesthrough UIP including Argentina on Sept 7 and Spain a day later.

The action adventure DOA: Dead Or Alive opens in Australia and New Zealand on Sept 7 and Italy on Sept 8, whileJapanese horror remake Pulselaunches in the UK on Sept 8. United 93 opens in South Korea on Sept 8 and a pair of smaller territories andstands at more than $28.3m.

Warner Bros Pictures International's Superman Returns has taken more than $181m; romantic mystery TheLake House stands at more than $47mincluding Village Roadshow territories; animated feature The Any Bully has reached $13m; the mystery Lady In The Water stands at more than $15m; and disaster movie Poseidon has virtually reached the end of its run on $121m.

Information from Sony Pictures Releasing International was unavailable at timeof writing.