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It was a huge gamble bringing back a Hollywood action character in his elderly age, not for a reboot, but for a final outing that some fans have felt was unnecessary – especially after the not-exactly-fondly-remembered Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Yet in a box office opening weekend that commentators and experts are calling “disastrous”, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’s hopes of having a big start in cinemas have failed miserably.
Harrison Ford’s fifth and final adventure with his hat and whip opened in the US lower than industry projections, making just $60 million in its opening three-day weekend in the US.
Meanwhile, globally Indy 5 has so far only made $130 million, which tragically is less than half of what Kingdom of the Crystal Skull took at $272.1 million (unadjusted for inflation) 15 years ago.
Despite having not-too-bad debuts in the UK and France, Dial of Destiny didn’t even make the Top 10 in Brazil and Mexico.
What makes this even more painful for Lucasfilm, for who Disney forked out $4 billion a decade ago, is that Dial of Destiny actually cost over $300 million to make.
And as Slash Film’s Ryan Scott pointed out on Twitter: “Would be a miracle if DIAL OF DESTINY makes more than $400 million worldwide given this opening. On a $[300] million budget this is going to be right up there with THE FLASH in terms of blockbusters that lose the most money in 2023. Brutal.” Warner Bros’ superhero flop is estimated to lose as much as $200 million for the studio.
So what went wrong? According to Deadline, Dial of Destiny was destined for the “Temple of Box Office Doom” after facing a stream of lacklustre reviews after its arguably ill-placed world premiere at Cannes. They claim the biggest problem was that the sequel failed to appeal in its casting to the under-40s and a diverse crowd, unlike the billion-dollar behemoth that was Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick.
Another great point is that Kingdom of the Crystal Skull did better as it followed the excellent Last Crusade, while Dial of Destiny had to follow the Indiana Jones movie some fans pretend doesn’t exist.
Let’s also not forget that in a cost of living crisis, some audience members might just wait for the new movie to hit Disney+ in a few months, especially when the reviews haven’t been exceptional.
But who knows, maybe it has legs on digital download rental beforehand, especially as for some fans it was a fun romp worth waiting for.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is out now in cinemas.
