‘Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides’—Box Office Glory?

“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” released today in North American theaters, and looks to be headed for box-office glory despite low ratings from critics.
‘Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides’—Box Office Glory?
'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' movie poster. (Walt Disney Pictures)
5/20/2011
Updated:
10/1/2015
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'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' movie poster. (Walt Disney Pictures)

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides released today in over 4,000 theatres in North American theatres, and looks to be headed for box-office glory despite low ratings from critics.

The latest incarnation of the popular Pirates of the Caribbean film series, stars regulars Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow and Ian McShane as Barbossa. On Stranger Tides also has new cast, such as Penelope Cruz who stars as Angelica. 

The plot of the new movie revolves around Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) as he crosses paths with Angelica (Penelope Cruz), a woman from his past who is looking for the Fountain of Youth. Angelica forces Captain Sparrow on Blackbeard’s (Ian McShane) ship, and the rest is regular Pirates fare. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is the shortest of the four Pirates films, at 2 hours and 17 minutes.

The newest release of the Pirates of the Caribbean series has however, gotten dismal ratings from film critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the popular movie review site, the film got only a 36% approval rating. In contrast, the first movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl got a 78% rating, while the second and third films, Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End, got a 54% and 45% approval rating. Claudia Plug from USA Today said of the movie, “The more sequels spun off, the clearer it becomes that one movie about these swashbucklers would have sufficed.”

But despite poor ratings from critics, it appears that Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides will have a strong box-office showing. It has already debuted in 70 other countries, and according to initial reports from 10 of those countries, it pulled in $18.5 million, about 50% more than the opening for the third film in Pirates of the Caribbean.

After all, when was the last time a poor rating from critics stopped people from going to watch an action film?