Four years have passed since the release of “At World’s End,” the third installment of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series. Being by far the most expensive film ever produced and raking in almost a billion dollars, the movie also seemed to be the end of the wildly successful trilogy. However, within a year, the production of a fourth film was announced. Tonight, “Pirates of the Carribean 4: On Stranger Tides” will hit theaters.

Despite having had a lower budget and having generated less buzz than its predecessors, the movie – adapted from the 1987 Tim Powers novel of the same title – is still expected to be a hit. It will be shown on a record 402 IMAX screens worldwide, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Cinemark Movies 12 in Ames will hold three midnight showings tonight, at 12:01 a.m., 12:02 a.m. and 12:03 a.m., respectively. The theater will continue to show the film on three screens regularly in the following weeks, in both 3-D and 2-D.

Movies 12 has traditionally enjoyed a strong rate of participation for midnight showings. The recent releases of “At World’s End,” the “Twilight” series, and the sixth and seventh Harry Potter films all drew tremendous audiences, with fans lining up for hours beforehand dressed as their favorite characters. The theater hopes the “On Stranger Tides” will attract a similar turnout.

But the film might be headed for rough waters with diehard Pirates fans. Two of the main characters from the previous films, Will and Elizabeth, will not be returning, as their actors, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, chose not to reprise their roles from the previous films. The only returning principal characters, according to IMDb, are Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow and Geoffrey Rush as Captain Hector Barbarossa. The movie introduces historical characters — such as the infamous pirate Blackbeard and European monarchs from the time in which the film is set — as well as a new love interest for Sparrow, played by Penelope Cruz.

If Disney can effectively incorporate these new characters into the tried-and-true “Pirates” formula, it will surely please the hordes of young fans at Movies 12 tonight — all of whom are waiting to get their fix of action on the high seas.