Yo, ho ho! Flick is real treasure for Utah theater

People magazine recently named Johnny Depp the sexiest man alive. And that may be one of the reasons "Pirates of the Caribbean" did such huge summer business — especially at Jordan Commons.

The Megaplex 17 at Jordan Commons in Sandy was the most popular place in the world last summer to see Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl."

According to manager Cal Gunderson, Jordan Commons sold more than 120,000 tickets for the film during its run from July 7 through Nov. 25, which made it the top-grossing movie theater in the world for the film.

Jordan Commons sold even more tickets than Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre, which is owned by "Pirates" distributor Walt Disney Pictures.

Gunderson thinks one reason Utahns liked the movie was because they like the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland and Disney World. But he also credits Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom, the movie's stars, as being quite appealing to Utah women.

"We had a lot of repeat business, especially from women," he said.

It got so that Gunderson recognized some women who kept coming back again and again.

Jordan Commons is not the largest megaplex in the country. It's not even the largest megaplex in Utah. (Jordan Landing has 24 screens; Jordan Commons a mere 17.) So Gunderson is at a bit of a loss to explain why this 4-year-old movie complex has twice topped the world in gross ticket sales. (In 2002, Jordan Commons was also No. 1 for the opening weekend of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.")

Since Jordan Commons opened, its top 10 movies, in order of sales, have been: "Pirates of the Caribbean," "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," "Star Wars: Episode II — The Attack of the Clones," "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," "Spider- Man," "Monsters, Inc.," and, in 10th place, "Pearl Harbor."

Gunderson said he had expected "Pirates" to have a long run at Jordan Commons, but 4 1/2 months was longer than he would have predicted.

The PG-13-rated "Pirates" is still playing in some suburban discount movie theaters and was released on DVD earlier this week.

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E-mail: susan@desnews.com