The fifth installment of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Dead Men Tell No Tales, is set to launch in theaters nationwide on May 24, 2017. The film is a highly anticipated summer blockbuster, even after the last movie in the series, On Stranger Tides, received low ratings from critics despite generating over a billion dollars in the box office. The fifth movie, however, is in danger of a an even more unexpected group: more pirates.
The new Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has been pirated by online hackers. An anonymous group has apparently seized control of the film and has put out a ransom to Disney. The group has threatened to release the entire movie onto the internet if Disney does not pay the group a certain amount of money to obtain the movie back. The group has demanded to be paid an unknown amount in BitCoin, the growing online currency.
Disney has not released a formal report about the hacking, but The Hollywood Reporter reports that Disney will not pay the pirates their ransom and will instead take their chances with working with the FBI to track down and shut down the hackers. If Disney misses out on capturing the pirates, it could mean hundreds of millions of dollars. As the last movie hit over a billion dollars, the next Pirates of the Caribbean film is expected to reach that mark and more. Disney is also relying on the integrity of consumers worldwide to want to watch the movie in theaters to experience the finale of such a storied, praised franchise like Pirates of the Caribbean in a beautiful, intense setting that movie theaters offer.
The story will develop more over the next week as the launch of the new film approaches on May 24, 2017. Either the hackers get their free leak online, or they will be captured and shut down by Disney.