Pirates of the Caribbean Movies in Order: Release and Chronological

The five Pirates of the Caribbean movies in order of release run from The Curse of the Black Pearl in 2003 to Dead Men Tell No Tales in 2017. The saga grew out of a Disneyland attraction that debuted in 1967, and the first film had its premiere at Disneyland on June 28, 2003, before opening in US theaters on July 9, 2003.

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), directed by Gore Verbinski
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), directed by Gore Verbinski
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007), directed by Gore Verbinski
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), directed by Rob Marshall
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017), directed by Espen Sandberg and Joachim Rønning

The first three films belong to one stretch of the saga under Verbinski, and Dead Man's Chest and At World's End were shot back to back, which is why the second and third play like one long story in two halves. Dead Man's Chest went on to gross more than $1 billion worldwide, and On Stranger Tides also passed that mark, according to Box Office Mojo. The music changes hands along the way: Klaus Badelt scored the first film, Hans Zimmer took the next three, and Geoff Zanelli scored the fifth. For the grosses of every film, see the Pirates of the Caribbean box office page.

A sixth film is in development, and the Pirates of the Caribbean 6 page follows it until it is released.

Start with The Curse of the Black Pearl, because in my opinion it is the only entry point that gives the later films their full meaning. It sets up Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, Barbossa and the cursed Pearl crew, and everything that follows keeps pulling threads from it. It is also a good watch on its own at 143 minutes, with a story that finishes cleanly if you stop there.

So, how far should you go? It could be argued that the best next step is a double feature of Dead Man's Chest and At World's End, since they were filmed back to back and Davy Jones and Cutler Beckett run through both, with the Brethren Court arriving in the third. Do not skip the middle one and jump to the third, because the Kraken, the chest and Bootstrap Bill's fate all get set up in film two.

On Stranger Tides is the easiest to dip into later. It follows Jack, Angelica and Blackbeard on a new quest, so if the second and third films wore you out, you can watch it with only the first film behind you. Dead Men Tell No Tales is a different matter: it leans on the Turner family story, so I would watch it after the original trilogy rather than before.

If you only have time for one pick beyond the first film, I would choose Dead Man's Chest, mostly for Bill Nighy's motion capture Davy Jones and the set pieces built around him. That is opinion, and the Pirates of the Caribbean movies ranked page gives the full reasoning. All five films stream on Disney Plus in the US, UK and Australia, and where to watch Pirates of the Caribbean lists the rental and purchase options as well. For the bigger picture, go back to the Pirates of the Caribbean movies hub.