Pirates of the Caribbean is a series of fantasy swashbuckler films produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and based on Walt Disney’s theme park attraction of the same name. The film series serves as a major component of the eponymous media franchise. Directors of 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 such as Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin McNally) follow Jack, Will and Elizabeth in the course of the films. The fourth film features Blackbeard (Ian McShane) and Angelica (Penélope 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 fictionalized version of the Golden Age of Piracy, and are set primarily in the Caribbean. The film series started in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which was met with a positive reception from both audience and film critics and grossed US$654 million worldwide.[1] After the first film’s success, Walt Disney Pictures revealed that a film series 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, 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; it is the 14th-highest-grossing film series of all time, and is the first film franchise to produce two or more movies that grossed over $1 billion.