
When the Walt Disney Company released Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in 2003, it likely didn’t know it would strike gold. Based on a popular Disney Park attraction, the movie spawned a lucrative franchise. While this is primarily thanks to the charm and humor of Johnny Depp’s beloved Captain Jack Sparrow, the films were full of life. The company has been trying to keep that magic going ever since but is now heading back to the drawing board after canceling its latest attempt.
Pirates of the Caribbean Success
The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has released five movies: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017). However, its future has been on ice due to a contentious legal and public relations battle between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, including domestic violence allegations. This led to Depp’s departure from the franchise and a subsequent reevaluation of his role as Captain Jack Sparrow. As a result, Disney chose to temporarily halt production and reassess the next steps for the series without its iconic lead actor.
While Depp mostly prevailed in his legal battles, he reportedly felt betrayed by Disney. The company has had to wrestle with this problem ever since. Furthermore, it set plans in motion to recapture the success of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise by rebooting and spawning a new cinematic world based around another popular Disney attraction — the Haunted Mansion.
Haunted Mansion Failure
Haunted Mansion was released in theaters on July 28 to little success. Disney had immense plans for turning the film into the next successful company franchise. Jamie Lee Curtis, Danny Devito, Owen Wilson, LaKeith Stanfield, and Rosario Dawson are just a few of the big names starring in the film. A Disney source told The Sun, “There were high hopes for Haunted Mansion, and Disney put loads of money into it.
However, nothing could stop the powerhouse that is “Barbenheimer.” The Barbie movie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer film were released a week before Haunted Mansion and have dominated the box office with record-shattering profits. Disney’s latest movie was dead-on-arrival, pulling in a measly $24 million on opening weekend against a reported budget of $150 million. It also had lukewarm reception at best. It is expected to lose money for the company, which obviously halts any franchise potential.
The studio aimed to create sequels and spinoffs around this reboot but has reportedly canceled any future plans after its failure to launch. A Disney representative told The Sun, “This one just hasn’t worked, though, and as things stand, all ideas and plans for a sequel or spinoff have been shelved.”
Disney Is Running Out of Options
The Haunted Mansion failure is another string of losses as Disney navigates this new reality. Recent blockbuster releases like Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania have also disappointed the studio. Critics have begun to question whether Disney has lost its magic. These misses might be self-induced as the company has over-saturated audiences with its intellectual properties, sequels, and series over the years.
Disney is running out of classic attractions to capture the magic of Pirates of the Caribbean. However, its previous attempt with Jungle Cruise (2021) may get a sequel, although it was not financially successful. Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt have both discussed a potential sequel, but the original outing couldn’t come close to what Pirates of the Caribbean accomplished.
With Splash Mountain destroyed, the company only has Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad left as classic attractions with potential. Don’t you dare speak of an “it’s a small world” movie franchise!