May came in like a lion for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but the month has made box-office mutton of some big-budget action-adventure films.
Can the latest Pirates of the Caribbean instalment break that curse?
Critics say no.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the fifth film in the franchise- called Dead Men Tell No Tales - has nabbed just a 34 per cent approval rating ahead of its debut in New Zealand on Thursday.
Orlando Bloom portrays Will Turner in a scene from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Photo/AP
Many said Johnny Depp's drunken sailer routine was wearing thin, and claimed the film was all action, no substance.
"Whatever charm and charisma Johnny Depp once had is well and truly lost at sea," TimeOut's Ellie Walker-Arnott.
Cinemablend's Conner Schwerdtfeger agreed, saying the film "proves that it may finally be time for Captain Jack to hang up his sword and give up the pirate's life for good".
Mark Kennedy from AP wrote: "After this fifth episode, you'll wish Disney would just declare the franchise dead and tell no more tales."
And the harshest review came from MaryAnn Johanson from Flick Filosopher.
She wrote: "The franchise finally overstays its welcome with this cacophony of CGI spectacle, a contrived and confusing plot, and a newly cruel and stupid Jack Sparrow."
Javier Bardem portrays Captain Salazar in a scene from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Photo/AP
Over the weekend, Fox's new Alien: Covenant underwhelmed with a US$36 million ($51 million) debut in North America, according to studio estimates this week - a significant drop from its Alien predecessor, Prometheus, which opened to US$51 million in 2012.
The latest Alien is again directed by Ridley Scott, and again stars Michael Fassbender, but that might not be enough for Covenant to catch up to Prometheus.
Covenant edged Guardians 2 by less than US$1 million, meaning even that race could tighten when final numbers land overnight.
That result comes one week after King Arthur: Legend of the Sword bombed with a US$15.4 million opening.
Disney/Marvel's Guardians 2, meanwhile, now sits at US$302 million in North America and US$732.6 million worldwide. It is North America's second biggest film of the year, trailing only Disney's Beauty and the Beast (US$497.8 million), which opened in March.
Now, another Disney release, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales has a challenging journey in the crowded superhero marketplace. The previous film in the franchise, 2011's On Stranger Tides, opened to US$90.2 million in North America on a US$250 million production budget - a dropoff for Pirates - but was rescued by big international receipts, ultimately topping US$1 billion.
Just one week after Dead Men opens, though, comes Wonder Woman - providing a narrower porthole window for Pirates to top the box office.
