Pirates of the Caribbean (film series)

The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Blacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate Captain Jack Sparrow to save Turner's love, Elizabeth Swann, from undead pirates led by Jack's mutinous former first mate, Captain Barbossa. Jack wants revenge against Barbossa, who left him stranded on an island before stealing his ship, the Black Pearl, along with 882 pieces of cursed Aztec Gold.

Dead Man's Chest (2006)

Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company arrests Will and Elizabeth for aiding Captain Jack Sparrow in the previous film. Beckett offers clemency if Will agrees to search for Jack's compass in a bid to find the Dead Man's Chest – and inside, the heart of villainous Davy Jones – which would give Beckett control of the seas. However, Jack wants the Chest to escape from an unpaid debt with Jones, who made Jack captain of the Black Pearl for 13 years in exchange for 100 years of service aboard Jones' ship, the Flying Dutchman.

At World's End (2007)

Lord Beckett gains power over Davy Jones and, with the help of the Flying Dutchman, he is now executing his plans to extinguish piracy forever. To stand against the East India Trading Co., Will, Elizabeth, Barbossa, and the crew of the Black Pearl set out to rescue Captain Jack Sparrow from Davy Jones' Locker. As one of the Nine Pirate Lords, Jack is needed in order to summon an ancient goddess with the power to defeat Beckett's forces.

On Stranger Tides (2011)

Captain Jack Sparrow is on a quest to find the fabled Fountain of Youth and crosses paths with a former lover, Angelica. She forces Jack aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge, a ship captained by the infamous pirate Blackbeard, Angelica's father. Both are also in search of the Fountain; Angelica to save her father's soul, Blackbeard to escape a prophecy of his demise at the hands of a one-legged man. Joining the hunt is former pirate captain Barbossa, now a privateer in King George II's Navy, who is in a race against the Spanish for the Fountain of Youth.

Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)

Thrust into an all-new adventure, a down-on-his-luck Captain Jack Sparrow finds the winds of ill-fortune blowing even more strongly when deadly ghost Spanish Royal Navy soldiers led by his old nemesis, the terrifying Armando Salazar (Javier Bardem), escape from the Devil's Triangle, determined to kill every pirate at sea, including him. Captain Jack's only hope of survival lies in seeking out the legendary Trident of Poseidon, a powerful artifact that bestows upon its possessor total control over the seas.

Future

Shortly before the release of On Stranger Tides, it was reported that Disney was planning to shoot back-to-back the fifth and the sixth films, although it was later revealed that only the fifth film was in development. With the release of the official trailer of Dead Men Tell No Tales, it was suggested that Dead Men will be the last film in the franchise. However, on March 4, 2017, director Joachim Rønning stated that Dead Men was only the beginning of the final adventure, implying that it would not be the last film of the franchise.

Tales of the Code: Wedlocked (2008)

Wenches Scarlett (Lauren Maher) and Giselle (Vanessa Branch) fix each other up for their wedding, in which they would each marry their groom. Upon realizing that both their grooms were the same man – Jack Sparrow – the two wenches find themselves in an auction led by the Auctioneer. The short film serves as a prequel to The Curse of the Black Pearl, explaining just why Jack Sparrow's boat, the Jolly Mon, was seen sinking at the beginning of the whole story, and explaining why wenches Scarlett and Giselle were so upset with him, and it also implies how Cotton lost his tongue. The plot took inspiration from the "Auction scene" from the original ride.

The short was directed by James Ward Byrkit, and was only included as a special feature in the US 15 disc 3D Blu-ray/2D Blu-ray/DVD + Digital Copy box set that includes Pirates 1–4; and in the similar UK 5-disc set.

First film

In the early 1990s screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio conceived a supernatural spin on the pirate genre after completing work on Aladdin, but there was no interest from any studio. Undeterred, the writing team refused to give up the dream, waiting for a studio to pick up their take on a pirate tale. Disney had Jay Wolpert write a script based on the Pirates of the Caribbean, which producer Jerry Bruckheimer rejected, feeling it was "a straight pirate movie". Bruckheimer brought Stuart Beattie in to rewrite the script in March 2002, due to his knowledge of piracy, and later that month Elliott and Rossio were brought in. Elliott and Rossio, inspired by the opening narration of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, decided to give the film a supernatural edge. As the budget rose, Michael Eisner and Robert Iger threatened to cancel the film, though Bruckheimer changed their minds when he showed them concept art and animatics.

In June 2002 Gore Verbinski signed on to direct The Curse of the Black Pearl, and Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush signed on the following month to star. Verbinski was attracted to the idea of using modern technology to resurrect a genre, one that had disappeared after the Golden Age of Hollywood, and recalled his childhood memories of the ride, feeling the film was an opportunity to pay tribute to the "scary and funny" tone of it. Depp was attracted to the story as he found it quirky: rather than trying to find treasure, the crew of the Black Pearl were trying to return it in order to lift their curse; also, the traditional mutiny had already taken place. Verbinski approached Rush for the role of Barbossa, as he knew he would not play it with attempts at complexity, but with a simple villainy that would suit the story's tone. Orlando Bloom read the script after Rush, with whom he was working on Ned Kelly, suggested it to him. Keira Knightley came as a surprise to Verbinski: he had not seen her performance in Bend It Like Beckham and was impressed by her audition. Tom Wilkinson was negotiated with to play Governor Swann, but the role went to Jonathan Pryce, whom Depp idolized.

Shooting for The Curse of the Black Pearl began on October 9, 2002 and wrapped by March 7, 2003. Before its release, many executives and journalists had expected the film to flop, as the pirate genre had not been successful for years, the film was based on a theme-park ride, and Depp rarely made a big film. However, The Curse of the Black Pearl became both a critical and commercial success.

Second and third films

After seeing how well the first film was made, the cast and crew signed for two sequels to be shot back-to-back, a practical decision on Disney's part to allow more time with the same cast and crew. Writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio knew that with an ensemble cast, they weren't free to invent totally different situations and characters, as with the Indiana Jones and James Bond series, and so had to retroactively turn The Curse of the Black Pearl into the first of a trilogy. They wanted to explore the reality of what would happen after Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann's embrace at the end of the first film, and initially considered the Fountain of Youth as the plot device. They settled on introducing Davy Jones, the Flying Dutchman and the Kraken, a mythology mentioned twice in the first film. They introduced the historical East India Trading Company (also mentioned in the first film), which for them represented a counterpoint to the themes of personal freedom represented by pirates.

Filming for the sequels began on February 28, 2005, with Dead Man's Chest finishing on March 1, 2006, and At World's End on January 10, 2007. The second film was also the first Disney theatrical feature film with the computer-generated Walt Disney Pictures logo.

Fourth film

Rossio and Elliot discovered the novel On Stranger Tides during production of Dead Man's Chest and At World's End and decided to use it as the basis for a fourth film. As Gore Verbinski was unavailable, Bruckheimer invited Rob Marshall to direct the film. Elliott and Rossio decided to do a stand-alone film, with a story that would support new characters, and incorporate elements from the novel, such as Blackbeard, the Fountain of Youth and mermaids—the latter two having been already alluded to in the previous films. Depp, Rush, Greg Ellis and Kevin McNally returned to their roles, and the cast saw the additions of Ian McShane as Blackbeard and Penélope Cruz as Angelica, Blackbeard's daughter and Jack Sparrow's love interest. A further addition was Richard Griffiths as King George II of Great Britain. After the costly production of two simultaneous films, Disney tried to scale down the fourth installment, giving a lower budget, which led to cheaper locations and fewer scenes with special effects. It was also filmed in 3D, with cameras similar to the ones used in Avatar.

Filming for On Stranger Tides began June 14, 2010 and ended on November 19, 2010. It was released in the United States on May 20, 2011. With a budget of $378.5 million, On Stranger Tides holds the record for most expensive film ever made.

Fifth film

On January 14, 2011, it was confirmed that Terry Rossio would write the screenplay for the fifth installment, without his co-writer Ted Elliott. On January 11, 2013, Jeff Nathanson signed on to write the script for the film. On May 29, 2013, it was announced that Norwegian directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg were selected to direct. On August 22, 2013, the two revealed that the title of the fifth film would be Dead Men Tell No Tales, alluding to the line well-known from the Pirates of the Caribbean theme park attractions. They also confirmed that they were working on the film, speaking highly of Jeff Nathanson's "funny and touching" script and that they are inspired by the first film, The Curse of the Black Pearl. On September 10, 2013, Disney pushed back the film's initial 2015 release, with sources indicating that a Summer 2016 release is likely. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer revealed that script issues were behind the delay, and that Jeff Nathanson was at work on a second attempt based on a well-received outline. While Disney originally announced a release on July 7, 2017, Dead Men Tell No Tales is now set to be released on May 26, 2017.

A spokesman for the Australian Arts Minister confirmed that the fifth installment was set to shoot in Australia after the government agreed to repurpose $20 million of tax incentives originally intended for the remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. According to Australian film industry sources, pre-production started in late September 2014 with filming expected to commence in February 2015. This was officially confirmed by Disney and Ian Walker the Queensland Arts Minister on October 2, 2014, stating that filming will take place exclusively in Australia, being the largest production to ever shoot in the country. Village Roadshow Studios and Port Douglas were officially confirmed as filming locations. Production began in Australia on February 17, 2015 and wrapped on July 9, 2015.

Box office performance

The Pirates of the Caribbean film series was successful at the box office, with each film grossing over $600 million, and all at some point ranking among the fifty highest-grossing films of all time. It became the first ever series to have multiple billion-dollar films, being Dead Man's Chest and On Stranger Tides, with other series having followed (the Batman series, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Transformers).

The Curse of the Black Pearl was the third highest-grossing 2003 film in North America (behind The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Finding Nemo) and fourth worldwide (behind The Return of the King, Finding Nemo and The Matrix Reloaded). Dead Man's Chest was the most successful film of 2006 worldwide, and At World's End led the worldwide grosses in 2007, though being only fourth in North America (behind Spider-Man 3, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Shrek the Third). On Stranger Tides was the third highest-grossing film of 2011 worldwide (behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Transformers: Dark of the Moon) and the fifth in North America. All of the sequels broke box office records upon release, of which the most notable are the opening-weekend record in North America (Dead Man's Chest), the Memorial-Day weekend record in North America (At World's End) and the opening-weekend record outside North America (On Stranger Tides).

Critical and public response

The series is noted for its high quality of acting talent, and is one of the aspects of the films that is always praised. The visual and practical effects are considered some of the best ever done on film, so much so that audiences believed certain CGI elements of the films were real and done practically. The plot and story to the first three sequels received mixed reviews, with the general consensus that they were too bloated and convoluted to follow. Pirates of the Caribbean is noted for reinvigorating the pirates genre of film after decades of either no pirate films, or failed films. The success of the series saw Disney try to replicate Pirates' success by launching films such as Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and The Lone Ranger.

Academy Awards

Together, all the first three films were nominated for a total of 11 Academy Awards, of which a single award was won.

Golden Globe Awards

Together, all the four films were nominated for a total of 2 Golden Globe Awards, of which neither were won.

MTV Movie Awards

Together, all the first three films were nominated for a total of 13 MTV Movie Awards, of which 4 were won.

Teen Choice Awards

Together, all the four films were nominated for a total of 25 Teen Choice Awards, of which 16 were won.