Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny Could Struggle To Make A Profit After $60 Million Debut

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny officially opened in theaters on June 30, but the film technically debuted on Thursday night with the first preview screenings. The movie earned $7.2 million from these previews in the US, to kickstart the film's first weekend at the box office. The full first-weekend numbers are in, and the movie earned $60 million in the US, below the $65 million it was projected to make, according to Variety.

$60 million is a big number, but The Dial of Destiny is one of the most expensive movies to be made in the history of filmmaking, carrying a gargantuan $295 million budget. What's more, the $295 million budget does not cover marketing and promotional costs.

The Dial of Destiny earned another $70 million from international markets for a total first-weekend global start of $130 million. For comparison, The Flash made $139 million globally during its first weekend worldwide--and that movie cost $100 million less to produce.

Comparing to the last Indiana Jones movie, The Dial of Destiny opened well below 2008's Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which earned $100 million for its US opening back then. The Dial of Destiny should benefit from the 4th of July holiday in the US.

Variety reported that The Dial of Destiny turning a profit might be Indiana Jones' "greatest challenge yet."

The Dial of Destiny is the first Indiana Jones film since 2008's Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. That movie didn't get the hottest review scores, but it made $100 million for its opening weekend in the US, going on to post $317 million stateside and $473 million internationally for a global haul of $790 million when all was said and done.

Ford is expected to hang up the fedora and whip after The Dial of Destiny, saying recently that he is done with the character.

Beyond The Dial of Destiny and the reported TV show for Disney Plus, Wolfenstein developer MachineGames is developing a new Indiana Jones game. Bethesda boss Todd Howard--a big fan of the series--is an executive producer on the forthcoming title.