After Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest rocked all of our socks last weekend with a record-setting $135,634,554 million opening weekend (sure, cynics might say that its presence on over 8000 screens in more than 4000 theaters had something to do with that but still -- that's a big damn pile of money), Buena Vista and Disney are hoping the film sets more records as it heads into weekend number two. POTC2 has been setting new marks pretty much every day, and assumptions are that tonight's final numbers will find it surpassing Spider-Man 2 as the biggest seven day-earner in history; Sunday will likely see earnings top $250 million.

Away from the US, meanwhile, this is Superman Returns' first World Cup-free (Forza Italia!) weekend, and Warner Bros. is giving the film a broad debut in European and South and Central America; WB expects big numbers from France, England, Mexico and Brazil, all of which are seeing the film this weekend for the first time.

And now, the third installment of our new weekly podcast, Coming Distractions. I'm your host, Cinematical.com Editor-in-Chief James Rocchi, and this week's edition of Coming Distractions features myself and Cinematical.com contributor Scott Weinberg talking about Pirates, Ain't It Cool News' 10th Birthday and and much, much more. Download and enjoy -- and let us know what you think in the comments section! The Podcast can be found ... right here.

(Coming Distractions theme: 'Overdose,' Dumb.)

And now, the second installment of our new weekly podcast, Coming Distractions. I'm your host, Cinematical.com Editor-in-Chief James Rocchi, and this week's edition of Coming Distractions features myself and Flavorpill film editor Lisa Rosman talking about Pirates, Roger Ebert, DVD picks, movie news and much, much more. Download and enjoy -- and let us know what you think in the comments section! The Podcast can be found ... right here.

(Coming Distractions theme: 'Overdose,' Drew Evans.)

Even though Americans like to pretend that soccer doesn't matter, Hollywood freely admits that it truly is a matter of life and death - financially speaking, at least. In anticipation of this summer's World Cup (which, for those of you who don't like sports where you can't use your hands, takes place in Germany from June 9 to July 9), therefore, most of the big releases slated for this summer are being carefully scheduled to avoid June. Why? Because no men in Europe (Or, for that matter, in Africa. Or Central and South America.) goes to movies when international soccer is on TV. Seriously - these people know what's important.

As a result, movies like Mission: Impossible III, The Da Vinci Code, and X-Men: The Last Stand, which would normally be thrown into theaters to kick off studio summer seasons are bowing on unusually early May dates. Meanwhile, other studios are holding onto their releases until the last week of the Cup, which is when both Superman Returns and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest will debut. Though they're willing to compete in most territories with the semis and the final (when only four teams are left, the games don't come as fast and furious as they do during the group stages, so the conflicts are reduced), Warner Brothers and Disney are holding those releases back in France, Germany, and Spain, where fighting the power of soccer was (quite reasonably) determined to be pointless.

In the midst of the Great Blizzard of 2006, New York City is also experiencing its annual Toy Fair, which managed to open yesterday despite all the snow. And, as always, the fair is filled with movie tie-in products that studios hope will earn them Scrooge McDuck-style piles of money. Thanks to insane inspired toy companies and studio advertising wizards, you can look forward to buying your kids products like "a flying radio remote-controlled Superman that can soar up to 300 feet in the air for two minutes of non-stop flying" (am I the only one who sees that mainly as a great way to put out an eye?), a Fast Talkin' Lightning McQueen toy from Cars that says 30 things in the lovely voice of Owen Wilson, and "a smoking cannon that shoots a cannonball along with a puff of water-based smoke" which, contrary to how it sounds, is actually a Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest toy, not a weapon. Yeah, right - did I say something earlier about somebody losing an eye?

But it's not all for little kids - your teens will be able to find a handful of movie-related products in which to invest as well, even if they're pretty much all Tenacious D bobble-heads. Oh, and Halloween costumes, of course. I mean, really - who doesn't want to dress up like Jack Black?