(Image Source: Los Angels Times/Walt Disney Studios)

BY TRACY PFEIFFER

ANCHOR CHRISTINA HARTMAN

You're watching multisource entertainment news analysis from Newsy.

Despite debuting to mixed reviews, analysts say the fourth installment of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean performed well enough at the box office for its opening weekend.

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“I hear a rumor... Jack Sparrow’s in London.”

Reports say the pirate flick debuted at more than $90 million for the weekend, putting it in the top spot for the year so far. (Video: CBS)

Still -- as Box Office Mojo Reports -- compared to the series’ previous installments, ‘Stranger Tides’ “sank.”

“At World's End drew $114.7 million on its first weekend in May 2007 (not including $13.2 million in Thursday night previews), while Dead Man's Chest raked in a then-record $135.6 million opening weekend back in July 2006. Adjusted for ticket price inflation, those grosses would be the equivalent of $131 million and $163 million, respectively.”

But the Los Angeles Times reports -- overseas -- it raked in the big bucks.

“Internationally it took in $256.3 million, the highest such box office performance ever not accounting for inflation and exchange rates. It easily beat the previous record of $236 million held by 2009's ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.’”

In a piece written prior to the opening -- a blogger for The Wall Street Journal says, the fourth ‘Pirates’ faced an uphill battle.

“Aside from horror films ... it is fairly rare for a franchise to get to a 4th film unless it has been a looong time since number three and they are doing a reboot of the franchise. ...But, there is a reason Hollywood tends to stop at three — because that’s when enthusiasm for a film series starts to run dry and originality tends to run out.”

But according to a writer from Variety -- the fourth ‘Pirates’ flick -- a reboot -- isn’t like the original trilogy. He says, the first three movies got a little muddy -- but ‘Stranger Tides’....

“...serves as a welcome corrective, reviving the fun, feather-light frivolity... It has nary an original idea and still doesn't make much sense, but it's lost all pretensions that it should...”

According to The Wall Street Journal, ‘Pirates’ centerpiece Johnny Depp has said he is looking forward to reprising his role as Jack Sparrow for a fifth installment in the series.