'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' has a disappointing opening weekend
Audiences apparently weren't jonesing for one last Indy adventure.
"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," Harrison Ford's farewell to the role of Indiana Jones, grossed $60 million domestically in its opening weekend. It was a disappointing showing for a film that reportedly cost close to $300 million, and it was also a decline from "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," which had a three-day debut of $100 million in 2008.
So what happened? One factor to consider is Disney's decision to premiere "Dial of Destiny" at the Cannes Film Festival in May, which turned out to be a major blunder. The hope was seemingly that a warm reception there would help build buzz, but instead, early reviews for "Dial of Destiny" out of the festival were surprisingly negative. As a result, the movie sat with a "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes a month before its release, which couldn't have helped with opening weekend ticket sales. Subsequent reviews were more positive, leading the film to end up with a solid "fresh" score. But the damage from Cannes may have already been done, especially given some moviegoers were already skeptical of another "Indiana Jones" sequel after disliking the previous one.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave "Dial of Destiny" a B+. That's an improvement on "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," which received a B, and the film currently holds an 89 percent Rotten Tomatoes audience score. So word of mouth suggesting this is a better Indy finale than "Crystal Skull" could help boost the film at the box office in the coming weeks and on the Fourth of July holiday.
But "Dial of Destiny" is certainly getting off on the wrong foot, continuing a summer filled with box office disappointments and coming right after DC's "The Flash" bombed with a $55 million opening. Perhaps audiences simply don't connect with Indiana Jones the way they used to, suggesting the legendary archaeologist himself has become an artifact of another era.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Magazine crossword: 1499Puzzles The weekly crossword from The Week
-
Political cartoons for January 16Cartoons Friday’s political cartoons include the Nobel Peace prize, the wrong island, and more
-
Lucasfilm passes ‘Star Wars’ torch to new leadersSpeed Read Kathleen Kennedy is stepping down after 14 years at the company
-
‘One Battle After Another’ wins Critics Choice honorsSpeed Read Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, won best picture at the 31st Critics Choice Awards
-
Son arrested over killing of Rob and Michele ReinerSpeed Read Nick, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, has been booked for the murder of his parents
-
Rob Reiner, wife dead in ‘apparent homicide’speed read The Reiners, found in their Los Angeles home, ‘had injuries consistent with being stabbed’
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
