5 Reasons Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny Failed At The Box Office

One of the biggest movies of the summer recently hit theaters in the form of "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny." Billed as the last ride for Harrison Ford as the cinematic icon, the film hoped to send Indy out with a bang. Unfortunately, the opening weekend box office came in on the low end of projections at $60 million. For context, "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" opened to $100 million 15 years ago. So this was, to say the very least of it, a disappointment for Disney and Lucasfilm.

But what went wrong, exactly? Why didn't director James Mangold's take on the character resonate as strongly with moviegoers? There is one glaring issue this movie had to face (we'll get to that) but, as is often the case, there are multiple factors at play that lead to a film's failure to deliver against expectations. Let's get into it, shall we?

I'm not going to sit here and argue that the average person cared — or even knew — that Steven Spielberg didn't direct the fifth and final "Indiana Jones" movie. But these things are often multifaceted and everything counts. Spielberg is one of the most trusted and celebrated filmmakers in history. He directed every other movie in this franchise, beginning with the all-time classic "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Not having that "from director Steven Spielberg" card in the trailers and TV spots may have mattered on some level. Am I saying if Spielberg had directed it the movie would have been a smash hit? No. But I think a few moviegoers would have been convinced to get off the couch for a new Spielberg movie.

Disney decided to roll out the red carpet and bring "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" to Cannes, one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world, for its premiere screening. This proved to be a pretty big miscalculation. Critics who saw the film at the festival were mixed-to-negative on it (read our review here), with the film debuting in the 50% range on Rotten Tomatoes. So, the first, highly-publicized reviews a lot of people read were negative, and people who just looked for a consensus were getting mixed signals. Things have improved dramatically since, as the film currently holds a 69% critical approval rating and an 88% audience rating. While that's not glowing, the general reception is certainly a lot better than that initial wave suggested it would be.

It may have been 15 years ago, but the shadow cast by 2008's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" still looms large. Despite the fact that critics in their day didn't hate the film as much as one might think, anyone who has spent any amount of time online over the last decade can tell you with certainty that a great many fans of Indiana Jones absolutely despise this movie. Yes, it was a monster hit that made $790 million worldwide (second only to "The Dark Knight" that year), but that may have been a "burn me once" situation for a lot of folks. We're not talking about a movie that people merely dislike: people hate "Crystal Skull" and years worth of persistent negativity regarding Harrison Ford's previous turn as Indy may well have impacted this one.

Admittedly, this item is a bit speculative, but it certainly feels worth considering. Unlike "Star Wars," it never quite felt like the "Indiana Jones" franchise caught on with the younger generation quite the same way. That's not to say that there aren't younger folks who enjoy the movies; it just doesn't seem to be on nearly the same level. "Raiders" came out more than 40 years ago and Harrison Ford is 80 years old. It's quite possible that the audience for this film skews a bit too old. Since the pandemic began, getting older moviegoers out to theaters has been a real challenge, with "Top Gun: Maverick" being one of the only films to truly buck that trend. If the response to "Dial of Destiny" had been as good as it was for "Maverick," who knows? But as it stands, it feels like a large percentage of this movie's target audience was perfectly content to stay home.

We could spend all day talking about this movie and the reasons it might be a financial disappointment for Disney. But, at the end of the day, there is one glaring issue that stands out like a sore thumb: the reported $295 million budget. That eye-popping figure is truly astounding and makes reaching profitability all but impossible. Even "Crystal Skull" numbers would represent merely breaking even, which is downright bewildering to consider. For so many movies, a $60 million domestic opening and a $400 million worldwide (give or take) global finish would be a win — or, at the very least, not a gargantuan disaster. In this case, Disney and Lucasfilm overspent in a big, bad way. The movie business is all relative, and when the budget gets that big, success becomes a pipe dream.