Harrison Ford is gearing up for his last adventure as Indiana Jones with $7.2 million in previews at the domestic box office. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” opens in 4,600 theaters this weekend heading into the Fourth of July holiday on Tuesday.
“Dial of Destiny,” Disney and Lucasfilm’s fifth and final film in the franchise, is expected to whip up $65 million in its opening weekend, a solid start except for the fact that the movie carries a massive $295 million budget. A portion of that went to de-aging special effects, which turned 80-year-old star Ford back into his younger self for the movie, which partly takes place during Indy’s early years. The $295 million budget does not include marketing costs to promote the film, such as an exorbitant Cannes Film Festival premiere and afterparty. Indiana Jones has overcome some eye-popping odds in his adventures, and “Dial of Destiny” turning a profit may be his greatest challenge yet.
Ford is back in the fedora for “Dial of Destiny,” which sees Indy searching for a mystical artifact that can change the course of history. He’s accompanied by his goddaughter Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) in a race against former Nazi Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) for the treasure.
The last time Indy was on screen was in 2008’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” which opened to $100 million and finished with $317 million in North America and $790 million globally. “Dial of Destiny” is sure to open No. 1 this weekend, but it will take a lot of nostalgic fans to hit the franchise’s previous highs.
Elsewhere at the box office this weekend, Universal’s animated kids movie “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken” made $725,000 in previews. It’s expected to open between $8 million and $9 million, and it cost $70 million to make.
