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
Produced by	Jerry Bruckheimer
Screenplay by	Ted Elliott Terry Rossio
Story by	Ted Elliott Terry Rossio Stuart Beattie Jay Wolpert
Based on	Pirates of the Caribbean by Walt Disney
Starring	Johnny Depp Geoffrey Rush Orlando Bloom Keira Knightley Jack Davenport Kevin R. McNally Jonathan Pryce
Music by	Klaus Badelt Hans Zimmer
Cinematography	Dariusz Wolski
Edited by	Craig Wood Stephen Rivkin Arthur Schmidt
Production companies	Walt Disney Pictures Jerry Bruckheimer Films
Distributed by	Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Release date	June 28, 2003 (2003-06-28) (Disneyland Resort) July 9, 2003 (2003-07-09) (United States)
Running time	143 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$140 million
Box office	$654.3 million

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 American fantasy swashbuckler film based on the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disney theme parks and part of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. It was directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer. The story follows pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and blacksmith Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) as they rescue the kidnapped Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) from the cursed crew of the Black Pearl, captained by Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), who become undead skeletons at night.

Jay Wolpert developed a script based on the theme park ride in 2001, and Stuart Beattie rewrote it in early 2002. Around that time, producer Jerry Bruckheimer became involved in the project; he had Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio work on the script, adding the supernatural curse to the storyline. Filming took place from October 2002 to March 2003 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and on sets constructed around Los Angeles, California.

The world premiere was held at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, on June 28, 2003. The film became the first in a series, with two back-to-back sequels, Dead Man's Chest and At World's End, released in 2006 and 2007. A fourth film, On Stranger Tides, was released in 2011 and a fifth film, Dead Men Tell No Tales, is scheduled for release in 2017.