Pirates of the Caribbean's first film was successful.
Pirates of the Caribbean : The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 American fantasy swashbuckler film directed by Gore Verbinski and the first film in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series . Pirates of the Caribbean (film series) . The film series started in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean : The Curse of the Black Pearl , which received positive reviews from the critics and grossed US$ 654 million worldwide . After the first film 's success , Walt Disney Pictures revealed that a trilogy was in the works . So far , the film franchise has grossed $ 4 billion worldwide ; it is the ninth highest-grossing film series of all-time and it was the first franchise where more than one film grossed $ 1 billion worldwide .