Indiana Jones 5 (aka Dial of Destiny) was a misfire for Disney. The film was Harrison Ford‘s send-off in the title role but failed to make $400 million at the box office.
Per Forbes, Dial of Destiny cost Disney $134.2 million. That is a huge loss for a studio as big as Disney to take.
The reason for the huge loss was a ballooning budget. Dial of Destiny cost Disney $387.2 million to produce. That's more than the film made at the box office ($383 million). It's unlikely that Forbes' budget includes marketing, either.
A large chunk of the budget was attributed to the cold open that featured a de-aged Ford. It also has a high-octane train chase and was an ambitious set piece. This sequence alone allegedly cost Disney $79 million for the post-production budget.
At least it wasn't poorly received. Indiana Jones 5 currently holds a 70% score from critics and 88% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
Indiana Jones 5 box office
As noted, Dial of Destiny grossed $383 million worldwide. The film had a somewhat promising start, debuting to $60 million domestically at the box office. However, it only legged out to $174 million domestically, the lowest total in the franchise.
Disney was likely hoping for a Kingdom of the Crystal Skull-like box office haul. The fourth installment in the Indiana Jones series made a whopping $786 million worldwide ($317 million domestically). That's the highest total in the history of the franchise.
What is Indiana Jones 5?
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny once again pitted Harrison Ford against the Nazis. The film is set in 1969 as Indy reunites with his goddaughter, Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), as he attempts to track down a powerful artifact. At the same time, Jürgen Voller — a Nazi-turned-NASA scientist — is also racing for the artifact. He wants to use the artifact to go back in time and alter the outcome of World War II.
The film served as a proper send-off for Ford after the divisive Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. After initially wanting to stay in the past, Indy is brought back to modern day by Helena and reunited with Marion (Karen Allen), whom he is estranged from.
It doesn't appear that Ford is game to come back for another Indiana Jones adventure. Plus, it took nearly two decades between the fourth and fifth installments.
But after seeing the box office receipts, it's unlikely Disney would take such a swing again. They inherited the Indiana Jones property well after Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Dial of Destiny was a huge swing, and they hoped that fans of the iconic franchise would return in droves.
That didn't occur, and Indiana Jones went out with a whimper. Even if fans didn't go to see it in theaters, hopefully, they acknowledge it as the farewell the character deserved.
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