Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destinyis finally here and fans are thrown back into the whip-cracking world of Dr. Henry Jones Jr. played beautifully byHarrison Ford.The franchise, which started back in 1981 withRaiders of the Lost Ark, has been a staple of Ford’s career and is, arguably, his most beloved character. The latest film from directorJames Mangoldbrings us an Indy who is significantly older than the last time we saw him (with Ford at 80 years old currently) and we get to see a different kind of adventure for the professor and archeologist.
Releasing its preview showings on Thursday night,Dial of Destinybrought in $7.2 million per Disney which, in comparison to other action films that are part of a franchise, that’s pretty good. Films likeMission Impossible - Falloutwhich premiered pre-pandemic brought in $6 million in its Thursday showings before a boom in the box office over the weekend.Currently,Dial of Destinyis projected to bring in roughly $60 million to $65 million in its opening weekend.
Opening in 4,500 theaters, it would be the second-highest stateside opening forthe franchise afterIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which was the last adventure forSteven Spielbergfor the series. The Mangold-directed film which is co-written by Mangold,David Koepp, Jez Butterworth,andJohn-Henry Butterworth,didn’t have an easy rise to opening weekend success with less than stellar reviews from critics, but fans have the film locked in the high 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it looks promising for a strong opening weekend.
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The Beauty of theIndiana Jones Franchise
It is a movie franchise that is not without its faults but the nostalgia that fans have forIndiana Jones as a charactergoes a long way. We are in love with the adventures that Indy goes on and it makes for moments like this, when fans can go back into theaters and see a newIndiana Jonesmovie special. The critical lens placed on this movie will probably not stop fans from enjoying it. Even now those who swore ofKingdom of the Crystal Skullare coming back around on it because it is still an Indiana Jones adventure and we just love seeing the character in action.Dial of Destinyis a fun timeat the theaters and it will be interesting to see if the film does as well as predicted or perhaps even better.
