“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” got a May 30 premiere day in China. It opens four days after the movie debuts in North America, but the delayed opening would work in China because even if it is a Tuesday, it is also the end of the Dragon Boat Festival, a public holiday throughout China.
Maximizing Audience Potential
Debuting the movie on the last day of the festival would maximize the audience potential of the movie, directed by Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg, CFI reported. In China, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” would have a wide release with 2D, 3D, IMAX and China Film Giant Screen screenings. In 2016, “Warcraft,” a fantasy video game adaptation, was in a similar situation and earned a box office in China six times bigger than in the U.S.
Movie Franchise
Out of five films from the franchise, it is the third to have a China release. The first, “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” was shown in 2007 and earned $18.1 million. The second, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” earned $69 million when it was shown in 2011. The four installments were screened again in the out of competition section of the 7th Beijing International Film Festival that concluded on Sunday.
Gizmodo reported that the Elizabeth Swann character of Keira Knightly would return in the fifth franchise of the movie. Her son in the film is the character played by actor Orlando Bloom. The international trailer of the film showed her, but it only showed Swann staring off at something off camera. It could be just a flashback.