‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ underwhelms in box office debut
The fifth “Indiana Jones” film might have trouble fulfilling its box-office destiny.
Disney’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” opened in first place at the domestic box office this weekend, collecting a lackluster $60 million, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore.
The long-anticipated sequel matched the low end of already modest projections in the $60-million to $65-million range domestically. Internationally, the action movie grossed $70 million for a global cumulative of $130 million, according to studio estimates. This is a disappointing start for the tentpole, which has a reported budget of $300 million.
Despite media hype and initially lofty expectations for the epic return — 15 years in the making — of Harrison Ford’s heroic archaeologist, “Dial of Destiny” didn’t even come close to touching its 2008 predecessor, “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” which launched at $100.1 million in the United States and Canada.
It did manage to outperform the rest of the “Indiana Jones” saga: 1989’s “Last Crusade” ($29.4 million), 1984’s “Temple of Doom” ($25.3 million) and 1981’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark” ($8.3 million), per Comscore. However, none of those numbers is adjusted for inflation.
Harrison Ford returns for a fifth and final round as the archaeologist-adventure hero, this time starring opposite Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Mads Mikkelsen.
Rounding out the top three at the domestic box office this weekend are Sony Pictures Animation’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” which added $11.5 million in its fifth frame for a North American total of $339.9 million, and Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental,” which made $11.3 million in its third weekend for a North American cumulative of $88.8 million.
Directed by James Mangold, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” stars Ford in his final outing as Indy on a daring mission to capture a precious artifact. Among the supporting cast of the film are Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Ethann Isidore and Mads Mikkelsen.
The latest installment of the “Indiana Jones” franchise, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, received a 68% rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes and an average B-plus grade from audiences polled by CinemaScore.
Hollywood is no longer capable of creating a career like Ford’s, and he knows it. So he plans to keep doing it while he can.
“Ford’s sheer movie-star charisma is the one flame this film can’t extinguish,” Times film critic Justin Chang writes.
“As throwback entertainment, ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ engages only in fits and starts. … But as a meditation on Indy’s (and Ford’s) mortality, on the passage of time and the plasticity of the motion-picture medium, it’s an unexpectedly, even accidentally resonant piece of work, especially as it gradually finds its footing in the final stretch and sprints toward a loopily audacious climax.”
Also new to theaters this weekend was DreamWorks and Universal Pictures’ “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken,” which bombed in sixth place with $5.2 million in the U.S. and Canada. Internationally, the animated feature earned $7.6 million for a worldwide total of $12.8 million.
DreamWorks Animation’s ‘Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken’ treads in familiar waters, but its charms make up for that.
Helmed by Kirk DeMicco, “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken” centers on a high-school mathlete (voiced by Lana Condor) who discovers she is descended from royal sea warriors whose duty is to fiercely protect their underwater kingdom. The main voice cast of the family film also features Toni Collette, Annie Murphy, Sam Richardson, Liza Koshy, Will Forte, Colman Domingo, Jaboukie Young-White, Bill Chapman and Jane Fonda.
The quirky teen comedy garnered a 65% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a solid A-minus grade from audiences polled by CinemaScore.
“At a moment when animated family features are often adaptations of existing intellectual property or additions to a franchise, ‘Ruby Gillman’ stands out as an original story, something to be lauded,” writes The Times’ Tracy Brown.
“Exactly how original is another question: While watching ‘Ruby,’ it’s impossible not to think of other recent animated films such as Pixar’s ‘Luca,’ a fish-out-of-water tale featuring young sea monsters, or ‘Turning Red,’ a panda puberty story involving mother-daughter tensions.”
Opening in wide release next weekend are Lionsgate’s “Joy Ride” and Sony’s “Insidious: The Red Door.”
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