Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is having a rough go of it since premiering at Cannes in May. On top of lackluster reviews, the fifth Indy movie also tanked at the box office on its opening weekend, immediately igniting the debate about the current state of studio filmmaking. While some seem to think the film’s underperformance might finally change the direction of the industry, a past franchise proves Disney doesn’t really learn from its mistakes.
Both the first Indiana Jones film, Raiders of the Lost Arc, and the first Pirates of the Caribbean film, The Curse of the Black Pearl, were major successes among audiences and critics alike. They each defined their respective generations and were, as expected, turned into multimedia franchises spanning several films, games, toy lines, and countless Halloween costumes. While both franchises’ popularity and cultural impact are undeniable, a closer inspection reveals choosing to continuously add new installments wasn’t always a good idea.
Indiana Jones maintained its high level through its second and third outings, which were all helmed by the master Steven Spielberg. Temple of Doom and Lost Crusade are widely regarded as fine partners to the history-making franchise starter. Crystal Skull, albeit still at the hands of Spielberg, started raising doubts about the necessity for more films, which 2023’s Dial of Destiny only confirmed. What’s worse, the latest outing had a reported budget of nearly $300 million, not accounting for marketing, which, judging by early box office numbers, might end up losing money for Disney. Indy’s latest adventure only grossed $60 million in its opening weekend, domestically, with an added $130 million internationally.
Pirates of the Caribbean suffered a similar fate, with one major difference. Critically, every single one of its sequels failed to impress, with some audience members still happy to tag along for the ride with Captain Jack Sparrow. With budgets that somehow surpass Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny for At World’s End and On Stranger Tides, most late Pirates films would have definitely made Disney very nervous if they had been released today.
Back then, in 2011, and even 2017, a film from a franchise that huge would always make its money back, and even register some profit, no matter how bad the reception, because catching these films in theaters was still a rational deal. On Stranger Tides made over a billion dollars at the box office, while Dead Men Tell No Tales almost reached the $800 million mark.
According to Forbes, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was trying to bring people back to theaters, the good old-fashioned way, but what Disney is still failing to realize is that, in this day and age, no matter how famous the IP, most viewers are happy to sit out a badly reviewed film and wait for it to drop on the streamer they pay a monthly subscription for, instead of spending extra money on tickets.
The only feasible answer to this conundrum is to make films so good that people can’t handle the expectation and FOMO, ultimately justifying the cost of a ticket (see Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: The Way of Water, and likely Barbie and Oppenheimer coming this month.)
