Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Plot

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a 2006 pirate adventure film that follows the 2003 summer blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. The sequel is again directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.

Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley reprise their roles as Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, and Elizabeth Swann, respectively. Also returning are Jack Davenport as Commodore James Norrington and Jonathon Price as Governor Weatherby Swann. Joining the cast are Bill Nighy, who portrays the villainous Davy Jones and Stellan Skarsgård playing Will Turner's father, "Bootstrap Bill" Turner.

The film was released in Australia and the United Kingdom on July 6, 2006, and in the USA and Canada on July 7, 2006. The movie set several records in its first three days, with an opening weekend of $135,000,000. As of October 2006, the film has made about $420,000,000 in the U.S. and became the third film to reach the $1,000,000,000 worldwide mark. Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End is set to follow on May 25, 2007.

Information about the two sequels to Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was presented at a Disney Investor Conference Studio Presentation in 2005. The title for the first sequel was revealed to be Dead Man's Chest, and a second sequel was promised for a May 2007 theatrical release.

Filming began on February 28, 2005, with locations once again in the Costa Alegre, in Jalisco (Mexico) and Barrouallie, St. Vincent. The sequel also includes location shooting in Dominica as well as The Bahamas. The filmmakers are largely shooting the two sequels back-to-back, à la The Matrix Trilogy, although throughout 2005 primary filming was for Dead Man's Chest, with only a handful of scenes for the third movie being shot. Because of the back-to-back setup, filming Dead Man's Chest did not finish until February 7, 2006. Although the films were filmed back to back, they are being released in the same fashion as The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, one year apart, and filming for the third movie continues into 2006.

Dead Man's Chest premiered at Disneyland in Anaheim, California on June 24, 2006, two days prior to the reopening day of the refurbished Pirates of the Caribbean attraction on which the movie series is based. The refurbished attraction includes an adjusted storyline and Audio-Animatronics based on the movies and opened June 26, 2006. The same attraction at Walt Disney World in Florida also underwent refurbishment and reopened on July 7, 2006 in conjunction with the film's theatrical release.

Elizabeth Swann's (Keira Knightley) and Will Turner's (Orlando Bloom) wedding day is disrupted by Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander) of the East India Trading Company. Beckett threatens to execute them and former commodore James Norrington (Jack Davenport) for aiding Jack Sparrow's escape. Beckett wants Jack Sparrow and his compass, and Will agrees to search for both in exchange for clemency. Will finds the “Black Pearl” run aground on Pelegosto, a cannibal-inhabited island where Jack and his crew are captive. Jack hid there after being visited by "Bootstrap Bill" Turner, who’s now enslaved on the Flying Dutchman. Bootstrap delivered the Black Spot, a mark that Jack’s debt to Davy Jones is due. Thirteen years before, Jones raised the sunken Black Pearl and made Jack captain. Now Jack must serve aboard the Dutchman for one hundred years or face the Kraken.

Will, Jack and the crew escape Pelegosto and head to sea. Jack has obtained a drawing of a key that leads to untold riches, but his magical compass fails. Jack agrees to give Will the compass if he helps find the key. Seeking assistance from Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris), a voodoo priestess, Jack learns the compass doesn't work because he does not know what he truly wants. The key belongs to Davy Jones and unlocks the Dead Man's Chest containing his heart. Whoever possesses the heart controls the seas. Back at sea, Davy Jones finds Sparrow, who deviously attempts to barter Will in exchange for himself. Jones demands one hundred souls for Jack’s freedom and keeps Will as a 'good faith payment.'

In Port Royal, Elizabeth escapes jail and, confronting Beckett at gunpoint, forces him to validate a Letter of Marque—a document intended to recruit Sparrow as a privateer for the Crown. She heads for Tortuga as a stowaway and finds Jack and Gibbs there enlisting unsuspecting sailors. A fallen James Norrington also joins the crew. Jack convinces Elizabeth she can only find Will by finding Davy Jones' heart. Using Jack's compass, she gets a bearing. They set sail for Isla Cruces, unaware Davy Jones is also headed there. Once underway, tension arises between Jack and Elizabeth when each discovers the compass now points to the other. It's unclear if they desire one another or if each is seeking the other as a means to find what they truly want.

On Isla Cruces, Jack, Norrington, and Elizabeth find the Dead Man's Chest. Will, who escaped the Dutchman with help from his father, Bootstrap Bill, arrives with the key. Will wants to stab the heart and kill Davy Jones, but a duel erupts between him, Jack and Norrington, all claiming it. Interrupted by Jones' crewmen, Norrington escapes with the heart and the Letter of Marque. Jones’ men return the (empty) chest to their captain.

The Flying Dutchman pursues the Black Pearl, but the Pearl outruns her. Jones summons the Kraken. After a fierce battle, Jack gives the order to abandon ship. ?Realizing the Kraken only wants Sparrow, Elizabeth leaves him trapped on board, telling the others he chose to remain behind. The Kraken drags the "Pearl" and its captain to a watery grave as Davy Jones declares their debt settled. He soon discovers the Dead Man's Chest is empty. Arriving in Port Royal, Norrington presents the heart and the Letter to Cutler Beckett in a bid to regain his career. Cutler Beckett now controls the seas.

The grieving crew seeks refuge with Tia Dalma. Consoling them, she asks if they'd sail to World's End to bring Jack and the Black Pearl back. All agree, and she says they will need a captain who knows those waters. Incredibly, the formerly dead Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) descends the stairs.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest grossed $55.8 million on its opening day, setting records for the largest opening day, the largest single day gross, and the largest Friday gross of all time. The previous record was held by Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith with $50,013,859.

The Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest opening weekend gross stands at $135,634,554 which beats the previous all time opening weekend set by Spider-Man with $114,844,116. Even taking into account the fact that ticket prices were higher for this movie than they were when Spider-Man debuted, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest still sold about 200,000 more tickets than Spider-Man did. The film is also the fastest to gross $100,000,000, doing so in only two days, as well as the fastest to gross $200,000,000 and $300,000,000 achieving those milestones in eight and sixteen days, respectively. The film was the second fastest to reach $400 million (in 45 days); Shrek 2 (2004) did this 2 days earlier (in forty-three days). The film was the fastest to reach 1,000,000,000 dollars worldwide (63 days). Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest has set more than nineteen box office records. Some of these records are below:
Highest Opening Weekend Gross: $135,634,554
Highest July Opening: $135,634,554
Highest Weekend Per Venue Average for a Wide Release: $32,818
Highest Opening Day Gross: $55,830,600
Highest Single Day Gross: $55,830,600
Highest Non-Holiday Monday Gross: $18,140,271
Highest Tuesday Gross: $15,731,919
Highest Friday Gross: $55,830,600
Highest Sunday Gross: $35,360,729
Highest 3-Day Gross: $135,634,554
Highest 6-Day Gross: $183,661,469
Highest Week Gross: $196,019,502
Highest 8-Day Gross: $214,975,000
Highest 9-Day Gross: $239,320,000
Highest 10-Day Gross: $258,205,000
Fastest to 100 Million: 2 days
Fastest to 200 Million: 8 days (beating Spider-Man 2 by a few million dollars)
Fastest to 300 Million: 16 days
Fastest to 1 Billion: 9 weeks
Most Weeks at #1 on the International Charts in the 00s (11 weeks)
Highest Grossing Film of 2006 (in the U.S.): $419,708,000
Highest Worldwide Grossing Film of 2006: $1,045,055,000
As of September 19, 2006, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest has made an estimated $419,817,000 in the United States (far surpassing its predecessor) and about $1,045,164,000 worldwide, making it 2006's highest-grossing movie (in the United States and worldwide) and currently stands as being the 3rd highest grossing movie of all time worldwide and 6th highest grossing movie in the United States (or the 44th highest adjusted gross in the U.S.).

As of September 2006, the film has a 53% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the only consensus being that the film is overly long (2 hours, 31 minutes) and the plot incoherent. In contrast, as of September 2006 Dead Man's Chest currently holds a 7.3/10 user rating on the Internet Movie Database with 46,895 votes. Early reviews for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest were initially positive, but the days following the film's theatrical release revealed a virtual down-the-middle split between critics who thought it was a good piece of entertainment and those who believed otherwise. One critic, Michael Medved, gave the film two stars (out of four), calling the plot "sloppy, ...convoluted and insipid." On the other hand, Michael Booth of the Denver Post awarded the movie three and a half stars, praising it as "two hours and 20 minutes of escapism that once again makes the movies safe for guilt-free fun." While the action and CG sequences were said to be well done, some critics felt that the plot was patchy, with the film relying on an overabundance of humor, special effects and action scenes. Many critics have also felt that Bill Nighy (Davy Jones) stole the show. Entertainment Weekly infamously featured a cover story about the movie, only to have their reviewer give it a D+. When the film hit huge, the magazine was slammed with angry e-mails. Walt Disney Pictures has been questioned by the National Garifuna Council, a representative body of the Garifuna people, for what they feel is a racist portrayal of the Calinago, or Caribs, as cannibals in Dead Man's Chest. The Council called for what they considered to be a fair and accurate representation, and Disney responded that the script could not be altered. No known changes were made to the film.

There are various references throughout the movie to scenes and lines that were in the first film. These include, but are not limited to:

Governor Swann accidentally pulls a candlestick off the prison wall, mirroring Will pulling one off of the Governor's wall in the first film.
When Lord Cutler Beckett says in the beginning, "Jack Sparrow", Will and Elizabeth correct him saying, "Captain", a reference to Jack's habitual response whenever someone forgot or deliberately omitted his rank.
Jack asks "Why is the rum always gone?" and advises people to keep the rum away from Elizabeth ("Hide the rum!") when he recognizes her as one of the new crew signed on in Tortuga. This mirrors a scene in the first film, in which Elizabeth destroyed a large cache of rum. Jack (who had particularly enjoyed the rum), had asked, "Why is the rum gone?" twice.
While Will was searching for Jack, one of the fellows reported that Jack could definitely be found in Singapore. In the first movie, when Jack saves Elizabeth by cutting open her corset, one of the soldiers remarked that he wouldn't have thought of that, and Jack responded "Clearly, you've never been to Singapore."
Another reference to rum is during an attempt to repel the Kraken; finding out there is no more gunpowder, Will gives the order to use the rum for the explosive device and the crew looked at each other in shock at this statement.
Captain Barbossa is portrayed eating an apple, which was the symbol of Desire he often fondled in the previous film.
While Will is searching for Jack at Tortuga, he runs into Giselle and Scarlett. During their brief meeting Giselle slaps Will in the face as a message to be given to Jack; this is a nod to the first film when Jack and Will visit Tortuga where Scarlett and Giselle slap Jack in the face.
Will's comment about getting to the island using a pair of sea turtles strapped to his feet echoes the story Gibbs told Will to explain how Jack escaped from the island he was marooned on prior to the events of the first film. Jack comments in responce, "Not so easy, is it?"
Just before the crew of the Black Pearl is to leave the island that the Dead Man's Chest is buried on, Jack hits Will over the head with an oar. Will did this to Jack in the first film.
While Jack, Will, & Norrington are swordfighting, Elizabeth tries to break it up by pretending to faint from the heat to get them to save her. This references two scenes from first film: one where she faints (due to her corset) and falls from the fort, and one where she pretends to faint in order to distract Norrington and her father as Will saves Jack from being executed.
While in the prison corridor at Port Royal, Governor Swann asks "Now where is that dog with the keys?". This is a reference to the dog being the guardian of the prison keys in the first movie. Prisoners often tempted the dog with a bone in an attempt the get the keys.
Another reference to the dog is made when the prisoners are seen calling to Elizabeth in the same manner that they called to the dog.
When escaping from the cannibals and climbing aboard the Black Pearl, Jack says, "Alas, my children! This is the day you shall always remember as the day that you almost ... ['caught' is inaudible because he gets splashed in the face by a wave] ... Captain Jack Sparrow." Jack says the same line at the beginning of the first film when he escapes after briefly holding Elizabeth hostage. He also says it at the end of the film before he falls off a ledge.
When Jack and Will swordfight in the first movie, Jack asks Will, "You're not a eunuch are you?" He also tells Barbossa that Will's a eunuch after the Interceptor explodes. In the second film, when the cannibals bring Will to Jack, Jack describes Will as "Eunuchy snip-snip" while making a cutting motion with his fingers. In the special deleted scenes disk for the first movie, one of the pirates states, "I used to date a ennuch." Jack also describes Will as having a "lovely singing voice" in the first film (in relation to the eunuch joke). In the second film Jack calls Will a "terrific soprano."
In both films, we see Jack Sparrow using a rather unorthodox method of transportation in his first scene. In the first film he stands atop the mast of a sinking dinghy. In the second, he uses a coffin and a skeletal leg as a paddle.
Pintel says "Ello Poppet" to Elizabeth as he did in the first film.
At the end of the first film Jack tells Norrington he was rooting for him. In the second film Jack says he's still rooting for him.
In the first scene of The Curse of the Black Pearl, Mr. Gibbs makes Elizabeth stop singing about pirates because it's bad luck, he says. In Gibbs' first scene in Dead Man's Chest, Gibbs is singing a pirate song himself (although this is mainly because he is now a pirate himself).
In one scene of the movie, Ragetti and Pintel are seen on a boat, rowing away. Then a dog appears with a set of keys. This implies they used the whistle and bone trick to attract the dog and retrieve the keys, the hopeful end result in the ride.
When Jack takes Elizabeth hostage in Curse of the Black Pearl, he remarks, "I knew you'd warm up to me." When Norrington attempts to stop Will from stabbing Davy Jones' heart in Dead Man's Chest, Jack begins to say the same line before Norrington turns on him as well.
After being knocked out by the oar swung by Jack, Will recovers on the Black Pearl while Elizabeth watches over him, recalling how they met in the first film.
Both films feature a swordfight that ends up being fought on strange objects. In Curse it was a flat-bed cart, and in this film it is a giant wheel.
Jack gives Barbossa's monkey to Tia Dalma, calling it an "undead" monkey. In a scene after the credits of the first movie, the monkey was seen stealing one of the pieces of cursed Aztec gold, thus becoming undead again.
In the first movie, Jack is heard to tell the two British officers right before Elizabeth falls into the water, "...and they made me their chief--". In Dead Man's Chest, Jack returns to the cannibals that had previously made him their chief.
In the first movie, Barbossa looks at a ship through a telescope and Jack jumps right in front of him. In the second movie, Jack is looking at a ship through a telescope and Davy Jones appears right in front of him.
In the first movie, Jack and Will find Gibbs lying unconscious in a sty. Norrington ends up in the same position after the bar fight and being knocked unconscious by Elizabeth.
The shot of the East India Trading Company's flag at the beginning of Dead Man's Chest mirrors the shot of the Black Pearl's Jolly Roger at the beginning of Curse of the Black Pearl.

The official Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest website has confirmed that the film will be available on DVD on December 5, 2006. A 2-disc special edition will boast over five hours of additional features, including:

Captain Jack: From Head to Toe – Secrets & Legends Revealed by Johnny Depp and Others
Meet Davy Jones: Discover the Creation, Mystery & Mythology of the Sea’s Ghostly Ruler
Bloopers of the Caribbean
Mastering the Blade – Sword Fighting With the Film’s Stars
Audio Commentary: Screenwriters Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio
“Charting the Return” – A Preproduction Diary
“According to Plan” – Journal of Filming the Movie
“Fly on the Set” Featurette: The Bone Cage
Creating The Kraken
Dead Men Tell New Tales: Re-Imagineering the Attraction
Pirates on Main Street: The World Premiere
A Producer's Photo Diary With Jerry Bruckheimer
The DVD will also include Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, French and Spanish language tracks, French and Spanish subtitles, as well as a widescreen (2.35:1) presentation of the film.

As an alternative to the DVD release, Dead Man's Chest was made available for pre-order in September 2006 as a download from the iTunes Store, with the same release date.