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Tag: Dial of Destiny

  • ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Holds On as the New ‘Insidious’ Takes the Top Spot

    ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Holds On as the New ‘Insidious’ Takes the Top Spot

    That B+ AudienceScore is showing its fangs, as Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has slipped to the second spot in its second weekend. While not every blockbuster needs to hold on to the top spot, the film simply had a disappointing $60M opening with a $295M production budget. It would need to make at least around $800M to make its money box, and it’ll need to leg out to make back its money.

    Though, while some are calling this a bad slip, it still dropped “only” 56% from its opening weekend. Putting that into perspective with The Flash opening to a $55M but slipping by 72% with a similar rating shows that Indiana Jones at least has some staying power moving forward. Though it also has quite a bit of competition that might bring that hold to a quick end potentially, it drop still could’ve been better which may be why the reactions are surfacing as they are.

    The big winner of the weekend was Insidious‘ return with a $31.4M opening weekend, which is slightly beyond the initial expectations. Insidious: The Red Door was created with only $16M when compared to other films and has shown a curious twist of smaller budgets making up for bigger blockbuster releases. Though, horror moviegoers remain committed while the general audience is a bit more cautious at the moment.

    Joy Ride is the other major release of the weekend that opened with $5.85M. While many are pointing to “smaller budget means more money,” it does seem like that isn’t always the case. The irony is also that the original small-budget release is trailing behind while the IP-focused entry is the one making money. So, we’re just seeing the usual blockbuster developments on a smaller scale than usual.

    Source: Variety, The Wrap

  • ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Underwhelms With $60M Opening Weekend

    ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Underwhelms With $60M Opening Weekend

    Going into the summer, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s opening box office was the talk of the town. Many pointed out that it would be on the lowest end of what has been released yet it somehow managed to be the best-performing live-action blockbuster all season. Animation hits like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and The Super Mario Bros. Film have shown some strong legs, it’s been a rough year in 2023 even as cinemas had hit after hit ready to release.

    Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the next in line with a soft opening box office at $60M. It is a dream for a smaller project, but the film costs a whopping $295M excluding its marketing costs. So, it would take incredible legs for the film to end up profitable though the B+ CinemaScore is weighing that chance down quite a bit. It almost feels like the box office has lost all momentum, as many films in the previous weeks have just not been performing as one would hope.

    Sadly, the film didn’t do much better internationally, as it pulled in $70M which is lower than even what The Flash did. So far, only Fast X managed to speed past anyone in its international box office while most are trying to even hit Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3′s opening, which was slightly mocked for being lower than Marvel’s usual. Who would’ve known that they were performing as usual just matching the overall year’s performance.

    This weekend proved that not even animation is a safe bet, as DreamWorks debuts its latest film, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, at $5.2M over the weekend. That is quite a disappointing box office for the film after the earlier success they saw with Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. So, while The Super Mario Bros. Movie and the latest Spider-Verse film made us believe families are back in theaters, harsh reality has set in once again.

    It gets worse once you realize that The Flash, one of Warner Bros. biggest bets and highest hopes of the summer, fell to the 8th spot in its third weekend. It now only made $5M and hasn’t even crossed $100M yet after that harsh 67% drop. It’s especially painful for high-budget fare that has been whelming or just disappointing at the box office this summer.

    What exactly is the cause? Perhaps exhibitors were just a tad too excited going into the summer as they piled on film after film. Yet, the prices have not gone down and continue to soar which makes people’s choices way more selective going in. Plus, there was already an onslaught of films early in the year which means interest has just slowed down if the film isn’t reaching a much higher threshold than usual; not surprising given what one is looking for to justify the prices or just wait it out until streaming. Add in high production budgets that are all-in on making their money back and Hollywood is facing a bit of an uphill battle.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Heading to a Soft $65M Domestic Opening Weekend

    ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Heading to a Soft $65M Domestic Opening Weekend

    Indiana Jones is a household name and while it’s a franchise that has way more breaks between releases than others, the nostalgia factor alone would seem like the perfect draw for audiences. Yet, it seems that even Harrison Ford’s return to the iconic role isn’t going to be putting a lot of butts in the cinemas. As of now, the film seems to be heading to a $65M opening weekend in 4,500 theaters.

    Globally, it’s not looking too much larger as it’s heading towards $80M with a potential total of $150M worldwide. Now, that isn’t a terrible start mind you but the issue lies in the fact that the film costs around $295M. That is excluding marketing and promotion costs, which makes it the most expensive entry in the franchise. So, the film has a long shot at turning a profit.

    It’s also set to open below Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which pulled in $100M in May of 2008. That film went on to make $790M globally and remains the highest-grossing entry of the franchise. James Mangold is taking over from Steven Spielberg with Dial of Destiny, but it seems a mixed reception from critics due to a risky Cannes showcase that may be backfiring on Disney and Lucasfilm.

    The film could still make a decent amount but it would need to make at least 600M to cover its production budget with another 200M minimum to cover its marketing budget, which might be far more expensive than we think. So, it’s a high gamble from Disney and who knows if they’ll be willing to do the same. This lower opening also continues to highlight that what some are trying to call superhero fatigue is affecting the entire blockbuster scene. Did theaters overestimate how ready audiences are set to return?

    Source: Variety

  • Lucasfilm Head Reveals ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ is the Longest Entry Yet

    Lucasfilm Head Reveals ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ is the Longest Entry Yet

    Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the next entry in the franchise that hasn’t had a new entry since 2008. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull tried to revive the franchise with Shia LaBeouf set to take over the franchise, but it didn’t quite pick up the pace that many hoped it would and the latest addition is once again returning to its true main star, Harrison Ford.

    We’re finally not too far away from Dial of Destiny’s release and during Star Wars Celebration, Collider used the chance to ask Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy to offer some insight into how long the next entry will be, and it seems that the film will be the longest yet.

    It’s around two hours and 22-23 minutes. I will say that the early movies were shorter. They were under two hours and 15 minutes. And we talked about that quite a bit… But as you know, with runtime, it’s all about how you feel, right? So, if you’re sitting in a movie, and it feels long… The reason this is interesting is because long-form storytelling is something that we like in the streaming space. So, I think it might be that it’s some kind of carry over from that. But God knows, this year there were so many three hour-plus movies that I felt I wasn’t getting any work done, trying to see them.

    Kathleen Kennedy

    Even Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was only slightly above two hours. So, if they stick to this length, James Mangold will have the longest entry in the Indiana Jones franchise. So, the next entry is going to have one of many firsts as we return to the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton Jones, Jr. It also will introduce us to a new cast of characters and does open up the possibility of continuing the legacy of this story in a new and unexpected way.

    Source: Collider