Disney’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” lassoed the top spot on domestic box office charts, collecting an underwhelming $60 million in its opening weekend.
That’s a decent amount of money for a tentpole that’s aimed at older audiences, but “Indiana Jones 5,” one of the most expensive movies ever, cost $295 million before marketing. It’ll take a heroic feat, one that would test even an enduring legend like Indiana Jones, for the fifth installment in the decades-old franchise to become profitable in its theatrical run.
It was a disappointing weekend at the box office as “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken,” a $70 million-budgeted family film from DreamWorks and Universal, cratered in its sixth-place debut with $5.2 million. In addition to “Dial of Destiny” and “Ruby Gillman,” the DC superhero adventure “The Flash” tumbled to the No. 8 spot in its third weekend of release with $5 million, another embarrassing 67% drop. It has yet to cross $100 million domestically, with ticket sales at $99.2 million to date.
“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” the final adventure to star Harrison Ford as the swashbuckling explorer, added $70 million at the international box office for a global start of $130 million. That’s worse than “The Flash,” which misfired with $75 million internationally and $139 million globally and cost $100 million less to make.
In terms of its domestic debut, the latest “Indiana Jones” didn’t come close to matching its predecessor, 2008’s “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” which opened 15 years ago to $100 million. Audiences and critics were lukewarm on “Dial of Destiny,” which earned a “B+” CinemaScore and holds a 68% on Rotten Tomatoes.
It’ll get a boost on Tuesday’s July 4th holiday, with estimates of $82 million domestically and $152 million worldwide for the five-day frame. But the action-adventure doesn’t have a long runway before Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” (July 12) and Christopher Nolan’s atomic bomb drama “Oppenheimer” (July 21), which cater to similar demographics, open on the big screen.
“This is a weak opening,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “Most action-adventure series finish by episode five and that’s happening here.”
“Ruby Gillman” added $7.6 million at the international box office, bringing its worldwide total to $12.8 million. Despite the weak turnout, audiences liked the movie, which has an “A-” CinemaScore and centers on a shy teenager (voiced by “To All the Boys” star Lana Condor) who discovers she’s part of a legendary royal lineage of mythical sea creatures.
Two bright(ish) spots on North American charts were Sony’s theatrical winner “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” which remained in second place with $11.6 million in its fifth weekend of release, and Pixar’s “Elemental,” which took the No. 3 slot with $11.3 million in its third weekend in theaters.
“Spider-Verse” has generated $340 million at the domestic box office and crossed the $600 million mark in global ticket sales. And “Elemental,” which hasn’t lived up to Pixar standards, is displaying modest staying power with $88 million in North America and $186 million worldwide. The film looks like it’ll continue to draw in family crowds throughout the summer, but it’ll struggle to justify its $200 million budget.
Jennifer Lawrence’s raunchy R-rated comedy “No Hard Feelings” landed in fourth place with $7.5 million from 3,208 theaters, a 52% decline from its debut. The Sony Pictures movie, which cost $45 million, has grossed $29 million in North America and $20 million at the international box office.
Paramount’s “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” again rounded out the top five, adding $7 million from 2,852 venues in its fourth outing. So far, the seventh “Transformers” installment has earned $136 million at the domestic box office and $381 million globally. It cost $200 million to produce.
Elsewhere, Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City” pulled in a lackluster $3.8 million as the comedic drama expanded to $1,901 theaters. So far, the star-studded film, led by Scarlett Johansson and Jason Schwartzman, has generated $18.1 million in North America and $29 million worldwide. That’s not a bad result for an indie in post-COVID times.
After a series of underwhelming tentpoles to kick off the summer, movie theater owners are holding out hope for July releases like “Mission: Impossible 7,” “Oppenheimer” and Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” to fill seats at multiplexes.
“Audiences are ready for the next big thing,” says Franchise Entertainment Research’s Gross. “And these movies look like they are going to be it.”
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