Box Office: 'Pirates of the Caribbean' makes $23.4M from Friday night previews

It seems that Walt Disney knew that “Pirates Of The Caribbean: dead men tell No Tales” will make not less than $25 million in its opening weekend. The film has successfully grossed over $23.3 million from Friday night previews, and will probably earn a lot more by this weekend.

The fifth installment in “Pirates” film series grossed $5.4 million from Thursday night previews, becoming one of the top-earning movies of the month.

Variety reports that the film officially cost Disney over $230 million in production and $85 million in international promotions. But the question is how much of a domestic dip it would take and how much overseas would make up the difference.

Disney expects that “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” will earn at least $1.3 billion during its theoretical run, breaking the records of “Beauty and the Beast” which grossed over $1.21 billion at the global box office.

‘Dead Men Tell No Tales’ at the box office

“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” features an assemble cast led by Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario, and Geoffrey Rush.

The film opened with projected earnings of $34 million in the first week, which is comparable with the $34.8 million opening Friday of 2011’s film “At World's End.”

The studio hoped that “Dead Men Tell No Tales” will break the records of 2006 blockbuster “Curse of the Black Pearl,” which grossed $45 million from Friday night previews. It seems that “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” did not entertain the audiences as much as “Curse of the Black Pearl” did.

What’s next?

Shortly after the release of “On Stranger Tides,” Disney announced that three new “Pirates” film would be released from 2017 to 2019. It has also been revealed that Johnny Depp will play the leading characters in all movies, which means the actor has been officially signed for the “Pirates” franchise.

With a $20 million Friday in India, South Africa, and China, the film may end the debut weekend close to the $70 million of “On Stranger Tides.” The film recorded one of the biggest opening days in Hollywood history.

It successfully made over $200 million on the first day from German, Austrian, French, Swedish, Indonesian, Malaysian, and Japanese markets. According to Variety, it is expected to bring in a minimum of $930 million by the end of its theoretical run, becoming one of the highest-grossing Disney movies of all time.