Once upon a time, the release of a new Disney movie in theaters would be a BIG event — the type your whole family would set aside time to experience together. But is that still happening?

The COVID-19 pandemic had a tremendous impact on the movie industry as a whole. And some recent Disney films simply haven’t been raking in the dough as much as some may have expected. One example could be Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the latest film in the massive franchise. It’s been YEARS since the last Indy film, so you might have expected this one to hit theaters with a BANG…but that hasn’t quite been the case.

Opening Weekend Woes

Right from the get-go, things weren’t looking all that great for Indiana Jones. According to Box Office Mojo, this latest film hit around $60,368,101 at the domestic box office during its opening weekend. Anthony D’Alessandro at Deadline called this a “disastrous result for the finale to a historically beloved franchise film.”

That $60 million figure puts its opening weekend BELOW Solo, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and even the last Indiana Jones film — Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Since that time, the film has brought in some more cash — totaling around $308,880,989 worldwide as of July 21st, 2023 (per Box Office Mojo). So it isn’t as though the movie hasn’t brought in any money, but it is significantly less than what some would have expected out of this popular franchise, so what went “wrong” here? Well, it could be a number of things.

Not-So-Great Ratings and Competition

For starters, the film hasn’t received the most positive ratings. It initially premiered at Cannes to “decidedly mixed results” per The New York Times. Their critic called it a “disappointment,” saying it played more like a “greatest-hits reel” and utilized “almost every adventure-film cliche.”

As of the latest updates, it has a 69% Tomatometer score and 88% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. That places it BELOW the Tomatometer score for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and all of the other Indiana Jones films.

A critic for The New York Times shared that the film is “as silly as you expect and not altogether as successful as you may hope.” Some have pointed out the film’s shortcomings but still found that there was “enough” to “make it well worth seeing Indiana Jones ride into the sunset.” (CNN Entertainment)

Whether you’re reading the negative reviews, the mixed ones, or simply looking at that 69% Tomatometer level, some of the less-than-stellar opinions out there might be enough to convince some people to skip watching the latest film in theaters. With the expectation that the movie will eventually be available to stream on Disney+ or even be available to buy or rent on digital platforms, some might wonder why it would be worth the cash to pay to see it in theaters now.

Another factor that could be at play is the upcoming films on the schedule. Many folks have limited budgets for extra activities like watching movies. With films like Oppenheimer and Barbie receiving LOTS of press (and positive reviews), some may have felt like they would rather save their cash to buy tickets to those films.

David A. Gross, from the consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, told Variety that people may be “ready for the next big thing,” and films like Mission Impossible 7, Oppenheimer, and Barbie could be “it.”

A MASSIVE Budget Makes Things Harder

Another complication that might be impacting the overall profitability of this latest Indiana Jones film is its budget. Deadline reports that a key source told them the film cost a “mindboggling $300M-plus,” and that is before an estimated $100 million in estimated marketing.

Reportedly, the cost is so high due to COVID-19’s impacts on production (things had to start and stop), Harrison Ford’s fee, fees paid to Steven Spielberg, and more.

The latest global results from the box office seem to indicate that the film has at least broken even with its estimated $300 million cost, but that high of a budget can make it all the more difficult to reach a level of even relatively small “success” from a financial point of view.

Disney has been working to cut back on some of its spending, but since major movies like this take years to develop, Variety points out that noticeable differences might not be seen until 2026 or even past that. Paul Verna, principal analyst at Insider Intelligence, said “It takes a long time for a big ship like Disney to change course.”

The Never-Ending Streaming Problem

As we noted a bit above, the never-ending streaming problem is something that could be impacting this film too. Nicholas Barber at the BBC argued, “All four of Indiana Jones’s previous adventures are currently available on Disney+ at the touch of a button, so why buy tickets to see an inferior version?”

Plus, with so many shows and straight-to-streaming films being made with high-profile actors, folks may feel less and less inclined to go into the theaters.

Couple that with the expectation many have that it’ll simply become available via a digital or streaming service soon, and the way that many may have become used to seeing films in their homes (due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic) and you’ve got a recipe for people staying home except to see those one or two HUGE films they feel are worth venturing out for.

As CNN puts it, “consumers who have grown increasingly accustomed to watching movies at home…combined with the lingering effects of the Covid pandemic [can] result in major disappointments at the box office.”

The Problem Goes Beyond Indy

But it’s not just Indy who is experiencing issues at the Box Office. CNN notes that 2023 will be remembered as a “cruel summer,” partially due to the strikes in place but also due to some “setbacks” for studios at the box office, including The Flash and Elemental.

According to Box Office, even Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One didn’t hit things off as well as some might have hoped, earning $54,688,347 in its opening.

The New York Times shares that domestic ticket sales are down about 20% from where they were in 2019.

Other Struggles

When it comes to Indiana Jones specifically, David A. Gross, a film consultant, shared “In general, audiences are interested in more, more, more of the same, until they start getting satisfied and excited about the next thing.” (The New York Times) It’s possible that this film — being the 5th in the franchise — was just the ending point, the point at which audiences felt like they were “done” with this franchise, like the franchise had done all it could do…for now, anyway.

Another issue could be that the film was potentially aimed more at long-time Indy fans and not enough at new audiences. Deadline argues that there were “no efforts” to make it appealing to those under 40. Reportedly, Disney has said that 42% of the audience (so less than half) was under 35 for the movie.

According to Deadline, one of the biggest problems the film may have also faced is that its toughest competition is often…itself. Since some of the past Indiana Jones films have blown audiences away and set the standard so high, it can be difficult for critics to not compare the latest film to those classics. That can make it easier for the movie to fall short when the films it’s being compared against are so beloved.

What do you think? Did you make an effort to see the film in theaters? Are you a fan? Tell us in the comments.

We’ll continue to watch for updates on the movie, how future Disney movies perform in theaters, and what steps Disney takes to address how movie-going has really changed in recent years. Stay tuned for all the latest!

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Have you seen the latest Indiana Jones movie? Are you a fan? Tell us in the comments!