'Pirates of the Caribbean' sequel sails to top of box office

Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" sequel sailed to the top of the North American box office during the four-day Memorial Day weekend, raking in nearly $78.5 million, industry figures showed Tuesday.

"Dead Men Tell No Tales," the fifth installment in the wildly popular franchise starring Johnny Depp, sunk another major new studio movie -- "Baywatch" -- which came in third place and only managed to bring in a disappointing $23.1 million in ticket sales, Exhibitor Relations said.

Another Disney offering, "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," placed second with $27.2 million in its fourth week out.

The lighthearted story of a band of misfit space adventurers -- played by Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel -- has taken in $340.5 million domestically since it opened on May 5.

"Dead Men Tell No Tales" also scored big internationally, collecting $247.8 in ticket sales, with China the top foreign market ($92.3 million), Disney said in a statement.

"The $326 million earned by 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales' means that The Walt Disney Studios has now crossed $3 billion globally in 2017 to date, with international grosses at $1.903 billion and domestic grosses at $1.102 billion," it said.

Ridley Scott's "Alien: Covenant," last week's box-office leader, dropped off sharply to fourth place during the Memorial Day weekend. 

The Fox film, starring Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace and Billy Crudup in the tale of a spaceship landing on a planet that seems idyllic -- until aliens attack -- netted $13.4 million.

In fifth was "Everything, Everything," a romantic drama from Warner Bros., at $7.7 million. The film tells the story of a young woman (Amandla Stenberg) who is told she must spend her life indoors in a sterile environment due to a genetic disorder, but later learns she may have been deceived. 

Rounding out the top 10 were:

"Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul" ($6.1 million)

"Snatched" ($5.1 million)

"King Arthur: Legend of the Sword" ($4.3 million)

"The Boss Baby" ($2.5 million)

"Beauty and the Beast" ($2 million)

Source: AFP