Box office: 'Pirates 5' heads for $75M; 'Baywatch' belly flops

The waters are choppy at the Memorial Day box office.

Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is easily winning the four-day holiday regatta with an estimated $75 million from 4,276 theaters, while Baywatch is belly flopping with a projected $23 million in a rare miss for Dwayne Johnson, who stars alongside Zac Efron in Paramount's R-rated adaptation of the classic TV show.

Pirates5, returning Johnny Depp in the lead role as the zany Captain Jack Sparrow, is being billed as the final chapter in the storied franchise and is pacing well behind the last three installments in the U.S.

Read more: In Theaters This Weekend: Reviews of 'Pirates 5,' 'Baywatch' and More

Franchise fatigue among U.S. consumers is a huge concern for Hollywood, and Disney is counting on Pirates 5 doing huge business overseas to make up for any deficit closer to home. The movie, costing north of $200 million to make before a major marketing spend, is expected to debut to $200 million internationally this weekend for a global launch of $275 million.

Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg, who helmed the breakout international darling Kon-Tiki, directed Pirates 5. Starring alongside Depp are Javier Bardem, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario, Kevin R. McNally, Golshifteh Farahani, David Wenham, Stephen Graham, Orlando Bloom and Geoffrey Rush.

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The franchise has never been a favorite of critics, outside of the first film, with Dead Men Tell No Tales currently sporting a 32 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, roughly on par with the last installment, 2011's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Moviegoers liked it far more, giving the film an A- CinemaScore.

Baywatch, directed by Seth Gordon, fared even worse among reviewers, with an 18 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Read more: 'Baywatch': What the Critics Are Saying

Paramount and Skydance decided to get a jump on the holiday weekend and launch Baywatch on Thursday. The movie is looking at a five-day debut of just $27 million from 3,647 theaters. Adding insult to injury, Disney and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is expected to beat Baywatch for the four-day weekend with $26 million, compared to Baywatch's estimated $23 million.

Heading into the holiday, pre-release tracking had suggested the comedy would clear $40 million for the five days, although some services lowered their estimates to $37 million late last week. Audiences bestowed Baywatch with a B+ CinemaScore. The movie skewed slightly female (52 percent) on Thursday, while 45 percent of ticket buyers were under the age of 25.

Baywatch, costing under than $70 million to produce before marketing, also stars Priyanka Chopra, Alexandra Daddario, Jon Bass, Kelly Rohrbach and Ilfenesh Hadera. It doesn't debut overseas until June 2.

Last summer, PG-13 action comedy Central Intelligence, starring Johnson alongside Kevin Hart, opened to $35 million over the June 17-19 weekend.

Friday-Monday estimates for all films will be updated Monday, the official holiday.

May 26, 12:20 p.m. Updated with revised weekend estimates.
May 27, 7:30 a.m. Updated with revised weekend estimates.
May 28, 7:30 a.m. Updated with revised weekend estimates.