‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ draws underwhelming box office on opening weekend

Originally Published: 02 JUL 23 18:12 ET

Updated: 02 JUL 23 20:00 ET

By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN

(CNN) — Harrison Ford brought the legendary titular character Indiana Jones back to the big screen this weekend with “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” but its opening box office showing was lower than advance estimates.

The movie grossed $60 million in the United States and $70 million internationally, bringing the fifth and final installment of the storied franchise’s global box office to $130 million on its 3-day opening.

“Dial of Destiny” reportedly cost nearly $300 million to make, which makes the open weekend box office numbers underwhelming and a tall hurdle for the movie to clear in order to profit.

The movie did open at number one despite mediocre reviews for Indy’s final chapter, and is projected to earn $82 million in its 5-day opening through the July 4 holiday weekend.

“Dial of Destiny” also appears to have been better received by fans than the franchise’s fourth installment, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” although that film still grossed $100 million during its 2008 opening weekend.

Ford, who first portrayed Jones in 1981’s “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark,” told CNN’s Chris Wallace in a June interview that he wanted to give fans, and the character, an ending that felt conclusive.

“I wanted it to be character driven and I wanted it to confront the question of age straight on – not to hide my age, but to take advantage of it in the telling of the story,” Ford said, adding he felt “very strongly” that they achieved that goal.

As for saying goodbye to the character that he’s played for over 40 years? “It’s time for me to grow up,” he joked.

The opening is one of several disappointing showings for big-budget movies at the box office this summer, with Warner Bros.’ “The Flash” and Pixar’s animated “Elemental” both falling well short of expectations. (Warner Bros., like CNN, is a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery.)

July will bring three more highly anticipated titles, including the latest “Mission: Impossible” sequel, “Barbie” and director Christopher Nolan’s fact-based “Oppenheimer,” starting with “Mission: Impossible” on July 12.

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