411 Box Office Report: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Wins With $60 Million Opening

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny began its run at the box office and opened soft, while still taking the top spot. Harrison Ford’s final go as the iconic character saw a #1 opening with $60 million, below the $65 million to $70 million most expected it to do coming into the weekend. That’s worse than the opening for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which got off to a $100.1 million start back in 2009.

Expectations were moderate for the film, which got a bit of a critical beating coming out of the Cannes Film Festival in May. Reviews have stabilized since but even then, it stands at a mildly positive 68% aggregated critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, the worst of any film in the franchise. On the plus side, the audience reaction is much stronger at an 88% RT audience score (compared to Crystal Skull’s lousy 53%) and a solid B+ CinemaScore.

Most of the issues here boil down to one pretty simple fact: people didn’t necessarily want to see another one of these films, especially after the low reaction to the last one. It should also be noted, however, that it should do good business leading into (and including) Independence Day on Tuesday. Still, this is a problem for a film that cost $295 million to produce and plenty to market. And the fact that it grossed just $70 million overseas to start isn’t encouraging. Dial of Destiny may make it to $150 million or so domestically, the lowest in the franchise, and will struggle to make it into profit unless international numbers pick up mightily.

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse was down a slot to #2 this weekend as it continued to9 hold well. The animated film dropped 39% in its fifth weekend to gross $11.5 million, bringing its totals to $339.9 million domestically and $607.3 million worldwide. The film is continuing to swing along toward an easy $365 million or more in the US and is a megahit against its $100 million budget.

Elemental also had a good hold in its third weekend, down 39% to $11.3 million. The Pixar film is doing its best to make up for its poor opening and has $88.8 million domestically and $186.8 million worldwide. Profit is still not in its future because of the $200 million budget, but Disney and Pixar are at least minimizing the losses at this point, and it should be able to make it to $115 million or so in the US.

No Hard Feelings had an expected drop, slipping 50% in its second weekend to $7.5 million. That drop is fairly typical of midbudget R-rated comedies, and it leaves the film at $29.3 million domestically and $49.3 million worldwide thus far. Those are solid numbers against a $45 million budget, and it shouldn’t have an issue making it to $45 million domestically before its run ends.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts brought in another $7 million this weekend, down 40% from last weekend’s numbers. The action blockbuster won’t be a hit for Paramount with $136.1 million domestically and $379.1 million worldwide against a $195 million budget unless the overseas grosses improve; it should close out with around $150 million stateside.

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken had a quiet opening this weekend with $5.2 million, well below the $10 million start most expected. It’s a bad result for a film that was hoping to scoop up the family audience in a difficult weekend where they were going to one of the top three films. Universal made a weird choice scheduling this as attempted counterprogramming to Indiana Jones while not accounting for Across the Spider-Verse and Elemental still being moderately early in their runs.

That’s the kind of misstep that the film could have weathered if it built some hype, but Ruby Gillman didn’t. The 66% RT critics average is only vaguely positive, though the word of mouth will be stronger via an 88% RT audience score and an A- CinemaScore. However, it has a long way to go to make back a $70 million budget that seems pretty much out of reach. Overseas numbers weren’t great either, with $7.6 million for a $12.8 million worldwide start. This may make it to $18 million to $20 million domestically, but it’s almost certainly a flop in the end.

The Little Mermaid continues its road to breaking even as it took in $5.2 million this weekend. The live-action adaptation of the animated film is now up to $281 million domestically and $523.8 million worldwide and is looking at a close to $300 million domestic total. Even with a $250 million budget, it should hit a very minor profit point.

The only place The Flash is racing is to the bottom, as it followed last weekend’s 72% drop with a 67% drop to $5 million. The DC superhero film has now grossed $99.3 million domestically and $244.3 million worldwide, and is going to struggle to even hit $120 million in the US at this point. With a $200 million budget, this is a full-on bomb for the studio.

Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City slipped 58% in its third weekend, bringing in $3.8 million. That puts the movie at $18.1 million domestically and $29.5 million worldwide, decent enough against a $25 million gross. Where it goes from here depends on how Focus Features handles the continued rollout, but it should at least make it to $25 million domestically.

Guardians Of the Galaxy Vol. 3 closed out the top 10 with a 48% drop in its eighth weekend to gross $1.8 million. The MCU film has now grossed $355 million domestically and $827.7 million worldwide. The budget was $250 million.

Next weekend will probably see Indiana Jones stay at the top barring a precipitous fall. The biggest new release will be Sony’s Insidious: The Red Door which is targeting around $25 million, while Lionsgate’s Joy Ride is looking at around $10 million or so.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Indiana Jones and the Dial Of Destiny – $60 million ($60 million total, $130 million WW)
2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – $11.5 million ($339.9 million total, $607.3 million WW)
3. Elemental – $11.3 million ($88.8 million total, $186.8 million WW)
4. No Hard Feelings – $7.5 million ($29.3 million total, $49.3 million WW)
5. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts – $7 million ($136.1 million total, $379.1 million WW)
6. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken – $5.2 million ($5.2 million total, $12.8 million WW)
7. The Little Mermaid – $5.2 million ($281 million total, $523.8 million WW)
8. The Flash – $5 million ($99.3 million total, $244.3 million WW)
9. Asteroid City – $3.8 million ($18.1 total, $29.5 million WW)
10. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – $1.8 million ($354.8 million total, $827.7 million WW)