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The Pirates of the Caribbean films have been some of the most visually appealing movies with their stellar use of VFX and locations. Each film pushed the boundaries of visual effects and introduced some memorable scenes like the introduction of Davy Jones, and the undead fleet of Captain Barbosa.
The fourth film in the franchise, titled Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides became the most expensive film to be ever made when it was first released. With a production budget of around $410.6 million, as per Forbes, it surpassed the budget of any film ever in 2011.
On Stranger Tides followed Captain Jack Sparrow on his search for the elusive fountain of youth.
The historic Royal Naval College in Greenwich, England, and Pinewood Studios were the major filming locations. Since it was filmed in the UK, it qualified for a government film tax credit program allowing films that spend over $34.1 million (£20 million) to recoup up to 20% of their production expenses.
Why was Pirates of the Caribbean 4 so expensive?
One of the main factors contributing to the film's remarkable expense was the cost of the cast and crew. 895 production workers were employed, and although Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, two prominent figures from earlier Pirates of the Caribbean movies, were conspicuously absent from this one, Penélope Cruz and Ian McShane were added to the ensemble in addition to Johnny Depp.
In his fourth role as Captain Jack Sparrow, Depp received a sizeable paycheck, which added to the budget.
Using an upgraded version of the 3D epic Avatar from 2009, the film was also the first in the series to be shot almost entirely in 3D. It is more complicated and expensive to film something in 3D rather than convert the film to that format in post-production. Thus, the budget was exponentially higher compared to other films at the time.
How much did the other Pirates of the Caribbean movies cost?
There are a total of five Pirates of the Caribbean films that have been made to date. Each of the films helmed a massive production budget owing to the ensemble set of actors, intensive technology used for filming, and the filming of expansive scenes that required a massive production team.
Here is a list of the production budget for each Pirates of the Caribbean film:
- Curse of the Black Pearl (2003): $140 million
- Dead Man's Chest (2006): $225 million
- At World's End (2007): $300 million
- On Stranger Tides (2011): $410 million
- Dead Men Tell no Tales (2017): $230 million
With a massive production budget, On Stranger Tides also earned massively at the box office with estimated global earnings of $1.045 billion, as per Forbes. The highest-grossing Pirates of the Caribbean film to date remains the second film, which earned $1.066 billion globally.
What is the most expensive movie ever made?
On Stranger Tides was the most expensive film to be ever made till the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015. With an overall production budget of $447 million, Star Wars: The Force Awakens remains the most expensive film to be ever made.
The sequel film to the popular Return of the Jedi (1983) was the seventh film in the Skywalker saga. The film saw the return of Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher, reprising their original roles. With such a massive production budget, the film managed to gross around $2.071 billion globally.
A possible sixth Pirates of the Caribbean film may be on the cards, as hinted by producer Jerry Bruckheimer. However, there were no concrete details about it at the time of writing.
