Dead Man's Chest (2006) is the second Pirates of the Caribbean film, directed by Gore Verbinski, released in the US on July 7, 2006, running 151 minutes and grossing more than $1 billion worldwide. It follows Jack Sparrow as he tries to escape a debt to Davy Jones, and it sits between The Curse of the Black Pearl and At World's End in both release order and chronological order.
Dead Man's Chest picks up about a year after the first film, when the wedding of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann is broken up by Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company, who arrives with arrest warrants. Beckett offers to free the couple if Will brings him Jack Sparrow's compass, so Will sets off to find the one man in the Caribbean who is hardest to pin down.
Jack, meanwhile, has problems of his own. He is visited by Will's father, Bootstrap Bill, who is now a cursed crewman on the Flying Dutchman, and he learns that he owes a debt to the sea captain Davy Jones. The Black Spot marks him, which means a monster called the Kraken will come for him. To get out of it, Jack seeks help from the voodoo priestess Tia Dalma, who knows where to find the chest that holds Jones' heart.
NorringtonJack Davenport
Governor Weatherby SwannJonathan Pryce
PintelLee Arenberg
RagettiMackenzie Crook
CottonDavid BailieMore of the cast: Reggie Lee (Headless), Naomie Harris (Tia Dalma), Winston Ellis (Palafico / Dutchman), LeJon Stewart (Lejon), Martin Klebba (Marty), Geoffrey Rush (Captain Hector Barbossa), Lauren Maher (Scarlett), Vanessa Branch (Giselle), Christopher S. Capp (Parrot Voice (voice)).
| Market | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US | July 7, 2006confirmed | d23.com |
| UK | July 6, 2006reported | themoviedb.org |
| AU | July 6, 2006reported | themoviedb.org |
| Market | Subscription | Rent or buy |
|---|---|---|
| US | Disney Plus | Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home |
| UK | Disney Plus | Apple TV Store, Rakuten TV, Amazon Video, Sky Store, YouTube |
| AU | Disney Plus | Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, YouTube, Fetch TV |
Streaming availability data from JustWatch, checked 2026-11-03.
| Director | Gore Verbinski |
|---|---|
| Writers | Terry Rossio, Ted Elliott, Jay Wolpert, Stuart Beattie |
| Producers | Jerry Bruckheimer |
| Music | Hans Zimmer |
| Cinematography | Dariusz Wolski |
| Budget | $225 million |
|---|---|
| Domestic (US and Canada) | $423 million |
| International | $643 million |
| Worldwide | $1.07 billion |
| Worldwide, in September 2026 dollars | $1.78 billion |
Pirates of the Caribbean box office for every film.
Hans Zimmer composed the score for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), and the album "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" was released on July 4, 2006 by Walt Disney Records. It is a score album, and it runs to 12 tracks.
What about the songs? No featured songs are credited for this film, so there are no song placements to describe and nothing to match to a scene. The soundtrack here is the score, and Zimmer is the credited composer for it.
How should you listen to it? It could be argued that a score album with no song singles is best taken as one piece, and, in my opinion, that suits a film built on long set pieces better than a list of standout tracks would. If you want the full run of cues, the 12 track release from Walt Disney Records is the one to play.
For how the music changes from one film to the next, see the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack page.
Sources: musicbrainz.org, themoviedb.org
The story turns on a trade. Beckett has Will and Elizabeth arrested and offers them their freedom if Will can deliver Jack's compass. Elsewhere, Bootstrap Bill tells Jack that his choices are a place on Davy Jones' ship or a trip to the bottom courtesy of the Kraken.
Will tracks down Jack's crew and agrees to look for the key to the Dead Man's Chest, with the compass as his payment. Tia Dalma tells the group what is inside: Jones' still beating heart, and whoever keeps it can give him orders. Jack then maneuvers Will onto the Flying Dutchman in his own place, and Jones offers Jack a way out of the debt if he brings in 99 more souls. Aboard, Will is reunited with his father and learns that Jones won the key in a game of Liar's Dice. Will takes the key and gets away while Jones is busy sending the Kraken after another vessel.
Back on land, Elizabeth breaks out of prison with her father's help, takes the Letters of Marque from Beckett and makes for Tortuga. She finds a drunk Norrington there, along with Jack, who talks her into using his compass to point the way to the chest.
All of them end up on Isla Cruces. Jack, Will and Norrington settle it with a three way sword duel, and each of them wants the heart for a different reason. Norrington comes away with the heart and the Letters, and he leads Jones' crew off after him, which gives the others a chance to run.
The Kraken then goes for the Black Pearl and kills most of Jack's crew. Elizabeth sees that the monster is hunting Jack alone, so she chains him to the mast to let everyone else escape, and the creature takes Jack and the Pearl down together. Norrington hands the heart to Beckett and is restored to his place in the Navy, and with that Beckett holds sway over both Jones and the Kraken.
Dead Man's Chest reached US theaters on July 7, 2006, after a premiere on June 24, 2006, at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. That location suits a saga that began as a Disneyland ride, since the attraction debuted in 1967 and the film series grew out of it.
The US date is confirmed by D23, while the UK and Australia both saw the film a day earlier, on July 6, 2006, according to TMDB. In the US it carries a PG-13 rating, in the UK a 12A and in Australia an M.
The opening weekend took in $135.6 million, and the film went on to pass Finding Nemo as Disney's highest grossing release. Final totals were $423 million domestic and $643 million international, which adds up to $1.07 billion worldwide on a $225 million budget. For the full numbers across the saga, see the Pirates of the Caribbean box office page.
Yes, Dead Man's Chest ends on a cliffhanger, because the Kraken pulls Jack and the Black Pearl under the sea and the surviving crew believe he is dead. Jones opens the chest and finds the heart gone, since Norrington took it, and Norrington then gives the heart and the Letters of Marque to Beckett, who now commands Jones, the Dutchman and the Kraken.
The last beat sends the crew back to Tia Dalma, where they agree to try to rescue Jack at the world's end. She introduces their guide, the resurrected Hector Barbossa, which sets up At World's End. In my opinion, this is the smartest choice in the film: Jack is the one character who cannot be pinned down, so the story answers by literally sending him to the bottom of the sea.
How does the setup work, step by step? The chain starts with the Black Spot and the debt to Jones, runs through the key won in a game of Liar's Dice, and lands on the three way duel on Isla Cruces. That duel, shot in the forests of Dominica and on White Cay in the Bahamas, is the practical set piece that decides who gets the heart: Norrington runs with it, and Beckett ends up holding it. Then Elizabeth chains Jack to the mast, because she realizes the Kraken wants only him. It is a human choice, and it gives Elizabeth a darker turn than anything she does in The Curse of the Black Pearl.
How does it compare with the other films? Compared with the first film, which is a self contained rescue story, this one trades a clean finish for a handoff. That was possible because it was shot back to back with At World's End, so the cliffhanger was a planned bridge and not a gamble on a sequel. Compare it with On Stranger Tides, which stands apart from the Jones and Beckett storyline and does not depend on this ending at all. Bill Nighy wore a motion capture suit on set for Davy Jones, and the Oscar for Best Visual Effects shows how much the film leaned on that creation to keep its villain frightening even while the heart changes hands.
It could be argued that the ending leaves too much unresolved, and a viewer who watches the sequel on its own will feel that. That being said, the three way duel sets each side up for the finish: Will ends up with the key, and the heart ends up with Beckett. If you plan to watch, keep the third film queued, and see the Pirates of the Caribbean movies in order for how the pair fit together.
Dead Man's Chest was shot across California and the Caribbean, with the main island locations being Dominica and the Bahamas. Principal photography began in Palos Verdes, California, in February 2005, and the film used sets at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank.
Dominica supplied the Cannibal Island sequences and the forest part of the Isla Cruces fight. In the Bahamas, White Cay hosted the start and end of that same duel, and Grand Bahama Island was used for ship exteriors.
For Davy Jones, Bill Nighy wore a motion capture suit on set. The film was shot back to back with At World's End.
Dead Man's Chest won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, an honor tied closely to Davy Jones. Bill Nighy wore a motion capture suit on set, and the CGI model for Jones was based on a full body scan of him.
The film was the most expensive made up to that point at $225 million, and it opened to $135.6 million. It later passed Finding Nemo to become Disney's highest grossing release.
The saga began with a Disneyland attraction, and the sequel premiered at Disneyland. As for the future, the sixth film is in development, with no release date set as of November 3, 2026. According to TheWrap (August 16, 2026), Jerry Bruckheimer said at D23 that the team is talking with Johnny Depp and working on a screenplay, with no cast or deal confirmed. Follow the status on the Pirates of the Caribbean 6 page.
In the film, the Dead Man's Chest is the chest that holds Davy Jones' still beating heart. Tia Dalma explains that whoever holds the heart controls Jones, which is why Beckett, Jack, Will and Norrington all chase it.
The film was shot on Dominica and in the Bahamas. Dominica supplied the Cannibal Island sequences and part of the Isla Cruces fight, while White Cay and Grand Bahama Island in the Bahamas were used for the rest of that duel and for ship exteriors. Production also used Walt Disney Studios in Burbank and began in Palos Verdes, California, in February 2005.
Yes, Davy Jones appears in Dead Man's Chest, played by Bill Nighy. Nighy wore a motion capture suit on set, and the CGI model was based on a full body scan of him.
Yes, it does. The Kraken drags Jack Sparrow and the Black Pearl under the sea, and the film closes with Barbossa returning to guide the crew toward a rescue, which leads straight into At World's End.
Yes, it grossed $1.07 billion worldwide against a $225 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo. It opened to $135.6 million, passed Finding Nemo as Disney's highest grossing release and won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
