When you make a really successful film and want to capitalize on it with sequels, you turn it into a trilogy. That’s what Hollywood did with “The Matrix,” “The Lord of the Rings,” “Oceans 11,” and many others. Aside from horror films (“Friday the 13th,” “Nightmare on Elm Street,” “Saw,” etc.) it is fairly rare for a franchise to get to a 4th film unless it has been a looong time since number three and they are doing a reboot of the franchise like with “Star Wars” or “Raiders of the Lost Ark” or even last summer’s “Karate Kid.” All of those films did three fairly close together and then went many years before bringing out number four. (The “Aliens” franchise probably should have stopped at two.)
So, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” is already unusual. Here they are going for box office glory for the 4th time in 8 years. But, there is a reason Hollywood tends to stop at three — because that’s when enthusiasm for a film series starts to run dry and originality tends to run out.
In the case of “Pirates,” there are a few other factors working against the franchise. First of all, two of the big stars from the first three Pirates films, Kiera Knightly and Orlando Bloom, aren’t part of this project. But, “Pirates” has always largely been about Johnny Depp’s quirky Captain Jack Sparrow. He is far more essential to the series’ success than Knightly or Bloom ever were and he is back for this version. The thing really working against “On Stranger Tides” is that each film in the series has gotten worse reviews than the one before it. Critics generally liked the original “Pirates” film; they thought number two, “Dead Man’s Chest,” was okay; but film number three, “At World’s End,” got largely bad reviews from critics and even diehard Pirates fans admitted that it seemed muddled and confusing.
I wish I could say that critics are praising “On Stranger Tides” as a return to the quality of the first “Pirates” film, but the reviews are generally mediocre. The critics say this “Pirates” film has plenty of action, but it comes at the expense of a quality story.
So, with over 200 million dollars invested in making this film and probably another 200 million spent on marketing it all over the world, what does Disney need to make it a success?
Well, first and foremost for Disney is the film’s International box office haul. “Pirates” Two and Three are both among the ten biggest films of all-time in terms of ticket sales outside the United States. Disney is rolling out “Pirates” across the world this weekend and it is a safe bet to dominate ticket sales everywhere.
Here in the U.S., despite the poor reviews, “Pirates “seems poised to have the biggest weekend of the year so far. “Fast Five,” which brought in $86 million in ticket sales three weekends ago (and showed that even fifth installments can score at the box office), is the current leader in the best weekend race. “Pirates” should beat that total.
It helps that Pirates will have little competition this weekend. “Thor,” in its third weekend, and “Fast Five,” in its fourth, seem to be fading pretty quickly. In fact, box office analysts say it is likely that the number two film at the box office this weekend will be the comedy “Bridesmaids,” which has very strong word of mouth and is becoming a “must-see” film for women. But the audience for “Bridesmaids” is not the same as the action fans who will line up in droves to see the swashbuckling Captain Jack Sparrow this weekend.
A $100 million weekend is almost a given. The real question is whether “Pirates” Four can come close to the $114 million that “Pirates” Three made its opening weekend or even the $135 million that “Pirates” Two pulled in. “Pirates” Four does need to do big business this week, because the competition steps up big time next weekend when “Hangover” Two and “Kung Fu Panda” Two come to theaters. But Johnny Depp seems pretty confident. He’s already told reporters that he’s looking forward to making “Pirates of the Caribbean” Five.
So, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” is already unusual. Here they are going for box office glory for the 4th time in 8 years. But, there is a reason Hollywood tends to stop at three — because that’s when enthusiasm for a film series starts to run dry and originality tends to run out.
In the case of “Pirates,” there are a few other factors working against the franchise. First of all, two of the big stars from the first three Pirates films, Kiera Knightly and Orlando Bloom, aren’t part of this project. But, “Pirates” has always largely been about Johnny Depp’s quirky Captain Jack Sparrow. He is far more essential to the series’ success than Knightly or Bloom ever were and he is back for this version. The thing really working against “On Stranger Tides” is that each film in the series has gotten worse reviews than the one before it. Critics generally liked the original “Pirates” film; they thought number two, “Dead Man’s Chest,” was okay; but film number three, “At World’s End,” got largely bad reviews from critics and even diehard Pirates fans admitted that it seemed muddled and confusing.
I wish I could say that critics are praising “On Stranger Tides” as a return to the quality of the first “Pirates” film, but the reviews are generally mediocre. The critics say this “Pirates” film has plenty of action, but it comes at the expense of a quality story.
So, with over 200 million dollars invested in making this film and probably another 200 million spent on marketing it all over the world, what does Disney need to make it a success?
Well, first and foremost for Disney is the film’s International box office haul. “Pirates” Two and Three are both among the ten biggest films of all-time in terms of ticket sales outside the United States. Disney is rolling out “Pirates” across the world this weekend and it is a safe bet to dominate ticket sales everywhere.
Here in the U.S., despite the poor reviews, “Pirates “seems poised to have the biggest weekend of the year so far. “Fast Five,” which brought in $86 million in ticket sales three weekends ago (and showed that even fifth installments can score at the box office), is the current leader in the best weekend race. “Pirates” should beat that total.
A $100 million weekend is almost a given. The real question is whether “Pirates” Four can come close to the $114 million that “Pirates” Three made its opening weekend or even the $135 million that “Pirates” Two pulled in. “Pirates” Four does need to do big business this week, because the competition steps up big time next weekend when “Hangover” Two and “Kung Fu Panda” Two come to theaters. But Johnny Depp seems pretty confident. He’s already told reporters that he’s looking forward to making “Pirates of the Caribbean” Five.
