This is an impressive box office performance, showing the huge popularity and appeal of the Pirates franchise globally. The film was a major commercial success.

1. Pirates of the Caribbean
AS: Institutions and Audiences

2. What genre?
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
is a 2011 adventure fantasy film and the
fourth instalment in the Pirates of the
Caribbean series.

3. What locations were
used?
• International locations were used as it was a
big budget feature filming for 3 months in
Hawaii, London, Puerto Rico, and California.
• The film could afford famous stars such as
Johnny Depp, and Penélope Cruz

4. 3D
• The film used new media technologies using 3D
cameras similar to those used in the production of the
2009 film Avatar.
• The film’s budget was slightly smaller than previous
Pirates of the Caribbean films, so slight savings were
made to special effects.
• The director said: "You are on an adventure and with
the 3D experience you are inside that adventure."

5. What are the advantages of using
3D to target an audience?

6. There were a lot of
special Effects.....
• On Stranger Tides employed 1,112 shots of computer-generated
imagery,
• They created CGI mermaids and special water effects, digital ships
and environment extensions, such as changing weather and
designing cliffs and waterfalls.
• Filming the mermaids involved eight model-actresses, who
portrayed them outside the water, as well as 22 synchronized
swimming athletes and stuntmen who wore motion capture suits and
were later replaced by digital mermaids.
• To make the mermaids more menacing underwater, the faces of the
actresses had some digital touch-ups on the underwater scenes,
adding sharper teeth and a shimmery fish scale quality on the skin.

7. Who were the production
companies involved?
• Walt Disney Pictures, a massive international
conglomerate and one of the big 6 majors.
• Jerry Bruckheimer Films
• Moving Picture Company

8. The majors
• A major film studio is a movie production and distribution
company that releases a substantial number of films annually
and consistently commands a significant share of box-office
revenues in a given market.
• They are known known as the majors, are commonly
regarded as the six diversified media conglomerates whose
various movie production and distribution subsidiaries
command approximately 90 percent of the U.S. and Canadian
box office.
• They are 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Paramount,
Columbia, Universal, and Walt Disney Studios.

9. Distributors
• Walt Disney Studios Home
Entertainment
• They released it in the UK and USA
• Release date: 22 May 2011
• It was released on DVD and Blue Ray

10. Task: Walt Disney
• What are the benefits of having Walt Disney
involved in production and distribution?
• What key terminology can you use to
answer this?
• What kind of company is Walt Disney?

11. Distribution
• The film's advertising campaign was intended
"to remind people of why they fell in love with
Jack Sparrow in the first place.”
• The pressure was on for distributors to convince an
audience to come back to the brand the fourth time.
• It had a very broad appeal and blanket advertising and
publicity were used.

12. Trailers
• Three trailers were released.
• A 3D version 6 months before the film released
• A Super Bowl TV spot released 3 months
beforehand and which was later released
online.
• The final trailer in March that focused more on
the plot than the previous trailer.

13. Tie ins
• There were Lego Pirates of the Caribbean toy sets - the latest
franchise to have a lego set named after it
• there was a lego-related video game,
• a cell phone app by Verizon Wireless,
• a special edition of Pirate's Booty,
• lines of nail polish by OPI,
• clothing from Hot Topic,
• jewellry from Swarovski.
• replicas of the "Pieces of Eight" coins

14. Posters

15. The
Posters
The first teaser poster used the same a skull as other films
in the franchise.
Other posters advertise the film’s release, and put the main
characters, Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane and
the mermaids amidst key imagery and iconography -
swords, the sea, ships.
The film is using the stars fame to attract people to the film,
whilst still continuing to sell the Pirates franchise.

16. Online
• Story synopsis
“Videos” with trailers, and TV spots, plus extended
film clips and exclusive video featurettes that go into
the movie’s plot and locations.
Promotional videos for the Lego video game tie-ins.
There’s information on who all the people in the
movie are in the “Characters” section
Stills from the film can be found in the “Gallery”

17. Online
• A Games” section is about promoting the online multiplayer
game, the console editions or other versions.
“Products” also has information on the video games as well as other
stuff you can buy and “Activities” has stuff you can interact with
either online or in the real world by downloading and making
yourself.
The site finishes up with sections on “Community,” a place where
you can check out Jack’s “Past Voyages” and more.
The movie’s Facebook page promotes many of the interactive
features of the official site in addition to hosting its own selection of
video, photos and a list of updates as to what the latest information
on the movie and its cast and crew are.

18. Advertising and cross
media promotion
• Big commercial broadcast during the USA Super Bowl XLV
which showed a version of the trailer - it appeal
• ed to a large mainstream audience.
• Targeted families with a broad 15-55 age - across a broad
demographic of classes
• A second longer trailer
• A TV spot would build largely off the second trailer,
• Further TV commercials.

19. Publicity: it started early.
• The publicity hype started well before the film was
released - even a year beforehand
• Official photos of the characters were released Sept
2010, 6 months before the release
• Press speculation about director and Tie ins with toys
announced

20. Walt Disney can afford
huge publicity
• It used synergy. Events at Disney Theme parks - Disney can utilise
this as it is such a huge conglomerate - it can use synergy to
promote the film at its theme parks
• Eg fans were given special treatment and the first look at the first
trailer in exchange for dressing up as pirates
• What other film can provide this vast scale of publicity? - it is
because Disney is such a huge company - one of the 6 majors.
• the premiere generated a huge amount of TV, press and online
interest.

21. TASK
• How would you describe the distribution
campaign launched by Disney compared to
that used by other (even smaller)
companies?

22. Exhibition
• The film opened on 22 May 2011
• It opened simultaneously in UK and USA for
maximum exposure
• In the US it opened on 4155 screens - a
massive amount
• In the UK it opened on 569 screens - two
thirds of the ones in the UK

23. Budget
• It cost $250million (dollars)

24. Box office
• Opening weekend figures:
• UK - £11million
• USA - $90million
• Total gross box office
• Worldwide to date - $1000 million!!