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Hollywood's trip down memory lane turns toxic this weekend, as a sequel and a TV adaptation arrive for the Memorial Day frame, each with some of the worst reviews for a supposed blockbuster this year. Is this the point where the whole “no original ideas, ever” strategy finally starts to eat itself?

Johnny Depp is far from the only box office star to return to past glories in an attempt to have a hit at any cost; he is simply the most recent one. So, here we are, 14 years after the first Pirates of the Caribbean, which he willed to success through an inspired, mincing performance that justifiably earned him an Oscar nomination, one of the rare comedic ones to garner one in the Academy's history. Four more times (and counting) down that road though, and it's getting a bit stale and desperate, especially with this series' notorious penchant for bloat.

In Dead Men Tell No Tales, we have Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow once again on the run from ghastly terrors from the deep who he once crossed and sent to their doom (is there anyone in the Caribbean he hasn't pissed off?) and on the hunt for a Thing that's a legendary lost treasure, while two young underwear models have a tangential adventure right beside him. This time, filling in for the role of the “Ghoul” is Javier Bardem, who answers the question long asked, “what if his character from Skyfall were a mouldering CGI pirate?”, while the Thing is the trident of Poseidon, which seems far out there even for this series. If the pile of Atzec gold from Black Pearl was this franchise's Ark of the Covenant, this is its Crystal Skull.

Brendon Thwaites and Kaya Scoledario (~whiskey-in-the-jar-o~) play the human Macguffins that send everybody off in the direction of treasure with several elaborate set pieces along the way. This is a series that has never once thought “you know, maybe we should pull back from that, though it has mercifully pulled back from the ridiculous excess of the two-and-a-half hours plus of At World's End. It may be too late, though, as it may have just worn out its welcome. On Stranger Tides already manifested this to some extent, with a significant drop off in opening weekend and domestic box office total, though it was floated up by the ever increasing foreign box office totals, cracking the billion dollar mark.

Things have only gotten more tilted towards the international end of the spectrum since then, though everyone does have their limits. Another of Depp's attempts to go back home again at this time last year was a massive failure, with Alice Through The Looking Glass capturing barely a quarter of Alice in Wonderland's totals. Of course, that was a film that we all kind of decided we didn't actually like in the first place. It's a little difficult to imagine for Pirates given that it's an action series, as they have a natural buffer in international box office. However, with terrible reviews and a “past sell-by” date look to this franchise, we're looking at an opening weekend of “just” $52 million, or $66 million over the Memorial Day Weekend.

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