3 Reasons Why "Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny" Bombed At The Box Office
If you saw my review yesterday, you'd know I was not a "Dial Of Destiny" hater. It generally checked off all the boxes required to make most audiences happy. Now I wasn't a champion of the film either. It was wildly average for the most part but still inoffensive. That said, I'm not surprised that the film is underperforming at the box office.
Over the weekend, the movie made 130 million dollars at the worldwide box office. Most filmmakers would kill to make a film that grosses that much in its first three days. But "Dial Of Destiny" cost a total of 295 million dollars to make, and that's before marketing costs. In general, for a film to be considered profitable, it needs to make double its budget. And pending some miracle, this movie is not making 600 million worldwide. So what went wrong? I'll give you three reasons.
1- No one gives a shit about Indiana Jones anymore
I could never direct a film, but I could be a studio executive. Before I greenlit any project, I'd ask the same question- Does anyone give a shit? If the answer is "No," then I would not make that movie. I do not deny the special place Indiana Jones holds in the hearts of many film lovers. Still, for the most part, the people who grew up on the Indiana Jones series are more likely to wait until streaming than they are to rush to the theatre and see the new installment. While I can't deny the character's legacy, the truth is that before Friday, we'd seen ONE Indiana Jones movie since 1989.
This isn't like the Skywalker Saga in "Star Wars," where they re-up with a new trilogy every decade or so. This character's best days are very much behind him. Watching Indiana Jones at this point is like signing a Hall Of Fame pitcher who is well past their prime. They aren't bad, but you're reminded of better days every time they take the mound.
2- The last film wasn't well received, and they waited too long to make a sequel
"Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull" is one of my life's most loathed summer blockbusters. They did an entire "South Park" episode about it. And while I still contend that the movie is way over-hated, I can't look past the damage that film did to the character's legacy.
With that said, "Crystal Skull" was still a huge hit at the box office, and a sequel was greenlit shortly after the film's release. Then those in charge waited and waited and waited until we reached a point where audiences just stopped caring. I understand wanting to take your time with a story, but the perfect time to greenlight this project would've been right after "The Force Awakens" came out. Harrison Ford showed in that movie that he still has his fastball. Giving Indy a proper sendoff shortly after giving Han Solo a proper sendoff would've been great, but the film was tossed around from studio and studio. Steven Spielberg lost interest, and we ultimately ended up with an average final product.
3- The film simply wasn't good enough for word of mouth to carry it
As I said earlier, I didn't hate "Dial Of Destiny," but when you're talking about a film that is 15 years in the making that is supposed to be the sendoff for one of the most famous protagonists in film history, you better make damn sure you come correct. Despite everything I've said so far about people not caring, I would argue that most people probably didn't care about a sequel to "Top Gun" either, yet it went on to be one of the most successful films of all time.
With tremendous writing and good storytelling, any film can make money with good word of mouth. James Mangold's film "Logan" was a massive success that garnered awards consideration despite being a sequel to two underwhelming films. Considering "Dial Of Destiny" featured the same director, I expected perhaps we'd get something just as sincere, but alas, we are left with an average (and ultimately forgettable) final film in the Indy saga.