The fourth entry in the adventure franchise took 50% more than its predecessor on its first day.

Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides teed up what one senior international distribution executive said privately could become the biggest opening weekend of all time overseas as it grossed an estimated $18.5m in 10 territories on its Wednesday opening day [18].

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International will release the film in a further 69 markets by the weekend, when On Stranger Tides will be active on approximately 17,000 prints.

The studio said the fourth entry in the adventure franchise took 50% more than its predecessor when comparative results were extrapolated from that film’s $12.3m opening day in 16 territories in May 2007.

On Stranger Tides scored the biggest opening day ever in Russia on $5m and grossed $3.2m in the UK, $3.1m in France, $1.7m in Italy and $1.3m in Sweden. In every case the result exceeded that of the previous film

For the record Pirates Of The Caribbean: At The End Of The World grossed $654m internationally and $963.4m worldwide.

Meanwhile Fox International confirmed that Black Swan crossed $200m on Wednesday and has raced to $8.5m in Japan within less than a week. The global tally has reached $308m.