Pirates of the Caribbean is a series of fantasy swashbuckler films produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and based on the Walt Disney theme park attraction of the same name. The film series is a major component of the media franchise of the same name.
Directors for the series include Gore Verbinski (films 1-3), Rob Marshall, Joachim Rønning (5-6), and Espen Sandberg. The series is primarily written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio (1–4); Other writers include Stuart Beattie, Jay Wolpert, Jeff Nathanson and Craig Mazin. The stories follow the adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley).
Characters like Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin McNally) follow Jack, Will, and Elizabeth throughout the films. The fourth film features Blackbeard (Ian McShane) and Angelica (Penelope Cruz), while the fifth film features Armando Salazar (Javier Bardem), Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites) and Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario). The films take place in a fictional version of the Golden Age of Piracy and are set primarily in the Caribbean.
The film series began in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which was positively received by audiences and film critics alike and grossed $654 million worldwide. After the success of the first film, Walt Disney Pictures revealed that a film series was in the works.
The second film in the franchise, subtitled Dead Man’s Chest, was released three years later, in 2006; The sequel was a success and broke financial records around the world on the day of its release. Dead Man’s Chest ended up being the number one movie of the year, grossing almost $1.1 billion at the global box office. The third film in the series, subtitled At World’s End, followed in 2007 earning $960 million, and Disney released a fourth film, subtitled On Stranger Tides, in 2011 in conventional 2D, digital 3D, and IMAX 3D.
On Stranger Tides also managed to raise more than one billion dollars, becoming the second film in the franchise and only the eighth film in history to do so. The franchise has grossed more than $4.5 billion worldwide; It is the 14th highest-grossing film series of all time and is the first film franchise to produce two or more films that grossed more than $1 billion.
