Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Gore Verbinski
Screenplay by	Ted Elliott Terry Rossio
Story by	Ted Elliott Terry Rossio Stuart Beattie Jay Wolpert
Based on	Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean
Produced by	Jerry Bruckheimer
Starring	Johnny Depp Geoffrey Rush Orlando Bloom Keira Knightley Jonathan Pryce
Cinematography	Dariusz Wolski
Edited by	Craig Wood Stephen Rivkin Arthur Schmidt
Music by	Klaus Badelt
Production companies	Walt Disney Pictures Jerry Bruckheimer Films
Distributed by	Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Release dates	June 28, 2003 (2003-06-28) (Disneyland Resort) July 9, 2003 (2003-07-09) (United States)
Running time	143 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$140 million[2]
Box office	$654.3 million[2]

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl^[a] is a 2003 American fantasy swashbuckler film directed by Gore Verbinski. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film is based on Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disney theme parks and is the first film in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series.^[5] The film stars Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley. The story follows pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) and blacksmith Will Turner (Bloom) as they rescue the kidnapped Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) from the crew of the Black Pearl, captained by Hector Barbossa (Rush). Barbossa's crew attempts to retrieve the final pieces of a hoard of Aztec gold to break the curse laid on them when they stole it.

After Walt Disney Studios executives created a rough treatment in 2000, Jay Wolpert developed a script in 2001, and Stuart Beattie rewrote it in early 2002. Around that time, producer Jerry Bruckheimer became involved in the project; he brought in Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio to work on the script.^[6] Having previously pitched a premise in the 1990s, Elliott and Rossio added the plot device of a supernatural curse to bring the story in line with the original theme park ride. Gore Verbinski became involved as director afterwards. Filming took place from October 2002 to March 2003 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and on sets constructed around Los Angeles, California.

As the first film released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner to be rated PG-13 by the MPAA, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl had its world premiere at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, on June 28, 2003 and was theatrically released in United States on July 9, 2003. Defying low pre-release expectations, the film was a huge box-office success: it grossed $654.3 million worldwide, making it the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2003. It received generally positive reviews from critics, with particular praise for Depp's performance. The film has been widely cited as the film that launched Depp as a box-office leading man after many years as a cult movie star. Depp won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role, in addition to Best Actor nominations at the Academy Awards, BAFTAs, and Golden Globes. The Curse of the Black Pearl was also nominated for four other Academy Awards and BAFTAs. The film became the first in a franchise, and was followed by four sequels: Dead Man's Chest (2006), At World's End (2007), On Stranger Tides (2011), and Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017).

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