The film series started with their first release on the big screen in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which received positive reviews from the critics and grossed US$654 million worldwide. 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 to-date at the worldwide box office. The third film in the series, subtitled At World’s End, followed in 2007, 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, becoming the second film in the franchise and only the eighth film in history to achieve this.
So far, the film franchise has grossed $3.73 billion worldwide; it is the eleventh highest-grossing film series of all-time and it was the first franchise where more than one film grossed $1 billion worldwide.
A fifth film, subtitled Dead Men Tell No Tales, is set to be released on May 26, 2017.