The fifth instalment of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise set sail this past weekend, with Dead Men Tell No Tales opening to $270.6 million worldwide.
The film claimed $62.2 million domestically, the lowest opening for the series since the first instalment Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl opened with $46.6 million back in 2003. Neverthless, this pushed Disney beyond the $1 billion mark for the year in North America, while the film added a further $208.4 from international markets, including a whopping $67.8 million from China, and a record-setting $18.1 million in Russia. It is expected to pass the $300 million mark today.
SEE ALSO: Three Ways to Fix the Pirates of the Caribbean Franchise
It certainly wasn’t plain sailing for Baywatch at the box office this weekend though, with the R-rated comedy debuting to a disappointing $22.7 million in North America. Given that Paramount Pictures has plans for a sequel, the studio will be hoping its international receipts will be strong enough to keep the franchise afloat.
Johnny Depp returns to the big screen as the iconic, swashbuckling anti-hero Jack Sparrow in the all-new “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.” The rip-roaring adventure finds down-on-his-luck Captain Jack feeling the winds of ill-fortune blowing strongly his way when deadly ghost sailors, led by the terrifying Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem), escape from the Devil’s Triangle bent on killing every pirate at sea – notably Jack. Jack’s only hope of survival lies in the legendary Trident of Poseidon, but to find it he must forge an uneasy alliance with Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario), a brilliant and beautiful astronomer, and Henry (Brenton Thwaites), a headstrong young sailor in the Royal Navy. At the helm of the Dying Gull, his pitifully small and shabby ship, Captain Jack seeks not only to reverse his recent spate of ill fortune, but to save his very life from the most formidable and malicious foe he has never faced.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is directed by Espen Sandberg and Joachim Rønning (Kon-Tiki) and features returning stars Johnny Depp , Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Kevin McNally, Stephen Graham and Martin Klebba alongside new additions Javier Bardem, Brenton Thwaites, David Wenham, Kaya Scodelario, Golshifteh Farahani and Paul McCartney.
