Down-on-his-luck Captain Jack is feeling the winds of ill-fortune blowing strongly his way when deadly ghost sailors, led by the terrifying Captain Salazar, escape from the Devil’s Triangle bent on killing every pirate at sea—notably Jack. Jack’s only hope of survival lies in the legendary Trident of Poseidon, but to find it he must forge an uneasy alliance with Carina Smyth, a brilliant and beautiful astronomer, and Henry, a headstrong young sailor in the Royal Navy. At the helm of the Dying Gull, his pitifully small and shabby ship, Captain Jack seeks not only to reverse his recent spate of ill fortune, but to save his very life from the most formidable and malicious foe he has ever faced.

What is the budget of Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales?

"Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales," an adventure released in 2017, was directed by Espen Sandberg, Joachim Rønning and stars Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem. The production budget was $230,000,000, placing it in the blockbuster range for adventure productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

While specific budget breakdowns are not publicly available, typical cost drivers for an adventure production like this include:

Stunts, Action Sequences & Visual Effects: Action films allocate a substantial portion of their budget to choreographing and executing practical stunts, pyrotechnics, and CGI-heavy sequences.
Above-the-Line Talent (Cast & Director): A-list talent commands significant upfront fees plus backend participation.
Production Design, Sets & Locations: Action films frequently require multiple international shooting locations, large-scale set construction, vehicle acquisitions and modifications, and specialized equipment , all of which drive production costs well above those of dialogue-driven genres.
Casting: Speaking at the On Stranger Tides press launch in Cannes, Depp said he would play the role so long as it is popular with the public.

What were the major cost factors in Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales."

Stunts: Stunts, Action Sequences & Visual Effects is one of the primary cost drivers in adventure productions of this scale.
Above-the-Line Talent (Cast: Above-the-Line Talent (Cast & Director) is one of the primary cost drivers in adventure productions of this scale.
Production Design: Production Design, Sets & Locations is one of the primary cost drivers in adventure productions of this scale.

How Does Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $230,000,000, Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales sits in the blockbuster range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015): Budget $235,000,000 , Gross $1,405,403,694
Man of Steel (2013): Budget $225,000,000, Worldwide Gross $668,045,518
Men in Black 3 (2012): Budget $225,000,000, Worldwide Gross $654,213,485
Avatar (2009): Budget $237,000,000, Worldwide Gross $2,923,706,026
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023): Budget $220,000,000 , Gross $571,125,435

The median budget for wide-release adventure films in the 2010s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.

Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales Box Office Performance

"Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales" earned $172,558,876 domestically and $795,922,298 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $230,000,000, the film performed strongly at the box office.

A film typically needs to earn approximately twice its production budget to cover marketing and distribution costs. For "Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales," that break-even threshold was roughly $460,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $795,922,298, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

Production Budget: $230,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $795,922,298
Net Return: $565,922,298
ROI: approximately 246.1%

At 246.1%, "Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales" earned roughly $3.46 for every $1 invested in production.

Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales Production History

Speaking at the On Stranger Tides press launch in Cannes, Depp said he would play the role so long as it is popular with the public. Geoffrey Rush had commented on returning as Hector Barbossa in the fifth installment, saying "If they keep shapeshifting this character, absolutely," and implied that he might return as the villain. Astrid Berges-Frisbey as Syrena and Greg Ellis as Theodore Groves, even though Groves appeared to have died in On Stranger Tides.

Directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg originally stated that shooting would take place in Puerto Rico and New Orleans, Filming moved to Doug Jennings Park on the Spit from March 30 to June 15 for water-bound scenes. Scenes were shot at Byron Bay on June 1. Locals made up more than 75 percent of the 850-plus crew then working on the film.

This was the first film in the series (since the first) that Hans Zimmer did not compose the music for. Instead, the main composer is one of his protégés, Geoff Zanelli, who had worked on the previous four installments in the franchise. Zanelli said that Zimmer "redefined the sound of the entire genre" and considered it a great accomplishment to have worked with him and Bruckheimer.