Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny star Harrison Ford addresses the film becoming a box office bomb. Directed by James Mangold, the fifth installment in the Indiana Jones franchise sees Ford back as the intrepid archaeologist for one last adventure, this time fighting against Nazis for control of a device they plan to use to change the course of history. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny reviews were generally positive from critics, but the film failed to make a mark at the box office, grossing $383 million on a reported budget of about $295 million.
In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Ford addresses Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny‘s underperformance, accepting some of the blame. The 82-year-old actor laments that movie theater culture has changed and fragmented, especially with the rise of streaming, but he doesn’t believe this is why his fifth Indy outing failed. Ford reveals that he was a major driving force behind bringing the hero back, but he still has no regrets. Check out his comment below:
“Sh*t happens. I was really the one who felt there was another story to tell. When [Indy] had suffered the consequences of the life that he had to live, I wanted one more chance to pick him up and shake the dust off his ᴀss and stick him out there, bereft of some of his vigor, to see what happened. I’m still happy I made that movie.”
What Ford’s Comments Mean For Indiana Jones
Dial Of Destiny’s Failure Can’t Be Attributed To Just One Thing
When Dial of Destiny hit theaters, it had been 15 years since Indy’s last outing in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The movie industry drastically changed in those 15 years, especially with the onset of the pandemic. Though movies can and do still succeed in theaters, theatrical windows are smaller and audiences are now trained to wait for movies to become available on VOD and streaming.
This is certainly one reason for Dial of Destiny‘s failure, but Disney also clearly overestimated how much interest there is in Indiana Jones movies from younger audiences. Getting younger viewers on board for a mᴀssive blockbuster is crucial to success, but the franchise is now 44 years old and Ford is in his 80s. Combined with a COVID-inflated budget that put the film’s break-even point probably around an eye-watering $600 million, lukewarm reviews, and a divisive previous installment, Dial of Destiny was a major risk.
Mangold has previously blamed Dial of Destiny‘s failure on audiences not wanting to see an older Indy in a movie that confronts his age and mortality, telling ᴅᴇᴀᴅline: “I wanted audiences to love him as he was and to accept that that’s part of what the movie has to say—that things come to an end, that’s part of life.”
Our Take On Indiana Jones 5’s Failure
Ford’s Last Outing As Indy Wasn’t A Total Disappointment
If Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny‘s budget had instead been around $185 million, as Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was, it may have ended up breaking even. Instead, one of cinema’s greatest heroes ended up going out on a disappointing note financially, and the film’s failure has cemented that the franchise will probably lie dormant for the foreseeable future.
Dial of Destiny did, however, score an 87% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, suggesting that those who did see it tended to enjoy it. Even if the movie didn’t succeed at the box office, it seems that the conclusion to Indy’s story wasn’t a let-down from a storytelling point of view, and that’s certainly worth celebrating. For Ford, it’s clear he has no regrets about Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
