Over the course of five installments, the Pirates of the Caribbean series has become one of the most financially successful film franchises of all time, grossing $4.5 billion dollars worldwide. Though the quality of these films has declined with each subsequent release, there is still an audience out there hungry for Captain Jack Sparrow's next adventure after almost two decades.

That's because, despite the Pirates films' massive success, there has never been a true copycat pirate movie that has tried to capitalize on Disney's winning formula. With that said, let's look at why other studios have been so hesitant to make their own swashbuckler films.

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One explanation could be the belief in a curse brought upon by Cutthroat Island, the 1995 adventure movie directed by Renny Harlin. The film had a messy production from beginning to end, plagued by numerous delays caused by script rewrites, issues with set construction and disputes with crew members. By the time of its release, Cutthroat Island blew past its budget, and the studio funding the film, Carolco Pictures, was in financial turmoil. Unfortunately for them, Cutthroat Island was panned by critics, making only $10 million on a $90 million budget, which cemented its place as one of the biggest box-office bombs of all time.

Cutthroat Island was credited for killing the pirate movie genre, but even outside the genre, water-heavy films are notoriously expensive to produce. Films set at sea, especially ones with big set pieces like ships, cost a lot of money, leaving no guarantee that the film will break even. For every film like the massively successful Titanic, there are box office disasters like Waterworld, increasing the financial risk further. With both of these working against it, it's still considered a miracle that Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was as successful as it was when it released in 2003.

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The production for the movie, though not as troubled as Cutthroat Island, did run into some hurdles. Executives at Disney weren't sold on the idea of making a pirate movie, especially one based on a Disney ride after the financial failure of The Country Bears. To combat this, the film's writers added supernatural elements to the story to make it more of a fantasy adventure, but that change was still met with some apprehension. Johnny Depp's inclusion in the film was also met with pushback because of his unique take on the character, which was inspired by washed up rock stars. Depp's take on Sparrow confused the powers that be at Disney, who were hoping for a more traditional leading man.

In reality, The Curse of the Black Pearl was successful not in spite of those odd additions, but because of them. The inclusion of fantasy elements made the film stand out compared to others in the genre, and help produce some of its most memorable action sequences. Depp's  Sparrow was met with instant praise from critics and moviegoers, who enjoyed the quirky and goofy nature of the character. Had The Curse of the Black Pearl been more of an homage to classic pirate films rather than try something new, it probably would have been a bomb on the same level as Cutthroat Island.

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As the Pirates franchise grew and subsequent films introduced even more outlandish characters and elements, the series cemented itself as less of a swashbuckler series and more of a fantasy action series that just happened to have a nautical setting. Any attempt to replicate Pirates' blend of action/fantasy would be met with unfavorable comparisons from moviegoers, as well as diminishing returns. Add in the fact that studios aren't too keen on testing the waters with new films similar to Pirates outside of established franchises, and it's easy to see why these films haven't had any challengers.

But Pirates' success has only gone so far. Later films have been critically panned and lost money, and other Disney films based on park rides haven't been as successful. With news of a Depp-less reboot being planned by Disney, the studio is looking to tap into that same magic that made The Curse of the Black Pearl such a success. The original Pirates film helped resurrect a dead genre, and with any luck, this new reboot could resurrect a dead franchise.

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