The films started with their first release on the big screen in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. After the success of the first film, Walt Disney Pictures revealed that a trilogy was in the works. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest was released three years later in 2006. The sequel proved successful, breaking records worldwide the day of its premiere. In the end, it earned $1,066,179,725 at the worldwide box office, becoming the fastest film (at the time) to reach the $1-billion-mark and standing as the third highest-grossing film worldwide (since having dropped to seventh place). The third film in the series, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, was released in 2007. In September 2008, Depp signed on for a fourth film in the franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, released on May 20, 2011 in conventional 2D, Digital 3-D and IMAX 3D. It succeeded in grossing more than $1 billion, becoming the eighth film and fastest Disney film (at the time) to achieve this. So far, the film franchise has grossed $3.72 billion worldwide, and is one of two franchises with two films that reached $1 billion worldwide (the other being the The Dark Knight trilogy). It is the fifth highest-grossing film series of all-time. It has been confirmed that two more installments to the franchise are included in Disney’s future plans. In July 2011, Johnny Depp confirmed he was closing in on a deal for a fifth installment and that the franchise wouldn’t be going ahead without Depp’s participation. here