Pirates of the Caribbean (2003-2017)

The film series started in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which received positive reviews from critics and grossed US$654 million worldwide.^[1] After the first film’s success, Walt Disney Pictures revealed that a trilogy was in the works. The franchise’s second film, subtitled Dead Man’s Chest, was released three years later in 2006; the sequel proved successful, breaking financial records worldwide the day of its premiere. Dead Man’s Chest ended up being the number one film of the year upon earning almost $1.1 billion at the worldwide 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 3-D and IMAX 3D. On Stranger Tides succeeded in also grossing more than $1 billion,^[1] becoming the second film in the franchise and only the eighth film in history to achieve this.The franchise has grossed over $4.5 billion worldwide;^[1] it is the 14th-highest-grossing film series of all time and it was the first franchise where more than one film grossed $1 billion worldwide. However, the series has experienced declining critical favor with each succeeding film.