The Curse of the Black Pearl ends with the curse broken, Barbossa dead and Jack Sparrow captaining the Black Pearl. The curse is lifted when Will returns the gold and his blood to the chest, and Barbossa dies as he becomes mortal again. Most of the crew is captured by the navy and sentenced to hang.
In my opinion, the smartest part of the ending is how the rules set up in the second act pay off in order. The curse needs every coin and a blood offering from the right bloodline. Barbossa's first ritual fails because Elizabeth is not the person he thinks she is, so the story has already told us the answer has to be Will, and it becomes a question of who gets him to the chest and when. It could be argued that Jack pocketing a coin is a deliberate hedge, since it keeps him in the fight with Barbossa rather than watching from the sidelines.
The final beats resolve the love triangle without cruelty. Will saves Jack from the gallows, Elizabeth chooses Will over Norrington, and her father accepts the match. Norrington lets Jack escape, so the navy officer ends the film as a rival who is more generous than he first appeared. Jack falls into the sea, is picked up by the Pearl and sails off as its captain, which leaves him free for further adventures.
How does that ending compare with the rest of the saga? In my opinion, it is the most self-contained one. This film wraps its curse, its romance and its pirate captain in 143 minutes, while dead mans chest runs 151 minutes and at worlds end runs 169. The money grew along with the running time: this film cost $140 million and earned $654 million worldwide, Dead Man's Chest and At World's End both went on to earn more. A later film such as on stranger tides came in at 136 minutes, but it was the only one of the five to change directors to Rob Marshall, whereas this first film belongs to Gore Verbinski's run. Perhaps that is why it still works best as a first watch on its own.
That open door is where the sequels begin. The next installment, Dead Man's Chest, picks up with Will and Elizabeth's wedding being broken up, and the wider sea lore of ships and curses is gathered under pirates of the caribbean curses. On the question of a sixth film, the only report on record is TheWrap on August 16, 2026, which says Jerry Bruckheimer said at D23 that the team is talking with Johnny Depp and working on a screenplay. No cast or deal is confirmed, and as of November 3, 2026 no studio or trade source gives a release date, as covered on the pirates of the caribbean 6 page.
