Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Dominated UK Box Office

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is crushing at the box office over in the United Kingdom. The Lucasfilm sequel managed to bring in $9 million for the top spot this weekend. That's the fifth-biggest opening weekend of 2023 in the United Kingdom. So, there were a lot of eyes on Harrison Ford's swan song as Indiana Jones. As pundits and fans alike debate the movie's performance, one thing is clear: people across the pond love their Indiana Jones apparently. It's not like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny didn't win the box office in the United States either. 

During the movie's opening frame, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny snared $60 million. Now, that included $7.2 million in preview night screening box office. From a worldwide perspective, Dial of Destiny ended up netting $130 million. The movie has a long way to go to recoup the massive reported budget. It's going to have to keep climbing this weekend to have a chance. We're only a couple weeks away from Mission: Impossible 7, Barbie and Oppenheimer.

Director Reflects on Mysticism In Indiana Jones Stories

Dial of Destiny might match some of the most beloved entries in the franchise when it comes to ratcheting up the mysticism. Comicbook.com spoke to James Mangold about how wild certain moments from Raiders of the Lost Ark and others can get. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny shocked some fans with how its magical artifact came into play this time.

"Well, certainly myself and my co-writers on the picture, we discussed it a lot," Mangold told us about the mystical macguffins that help form these movies. "But it's not really so controversial, these movies have a very elegant form. The relic always defines the third act and the power of the relic defines the magic of the movie. So whether you're talking about the Ark of the Covenant or you're talking about the Holy Grail, or at all, we can talk about all of them, but whatever goes down in the third act is usually some kind of reaction to the magic and power and mysticism possessed by the relic itself. And usually pretty mind-blowing."

"I mean, even the original Raiders I think was a pretty big swing in terms of chasing this tablet through the desert for two hours and then suddenly someone opens this box and the movie turns into Poltergeist or Close Encounters of the Third Kind," Mangold added. "It was kind of a massive shift, but a beautiful one and one that in a way forced Indiana Jones to confront, as a scientist, something he could not explain. And I think that has become a staple of all the movies, that each movie ends up culminating with a kind of event, a kind of magical, inexplicable event that forces this doctor, this scientist to suddenly have to wrestle with how he's going to explain this with simple logic." 

Is Indiana Jones And The Dial of Destiny Worth It?

Comicbook.com's Patrick Cavanaugh wrote about the latest Indiana Jones title for the site. In his review of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, he explained that James Mangold's movie largely manages to bring some of that magic on-screen. However, something feels a bit off when compared to the high-water marks of this franchise.

"While the rogue archaeologist, played by Harrison Ford, might have been driven by "fortune and glory" at times, his quests were often to preserve history for future generations," the writer argues. "For Ford's final outing, James Mangold stepped into the director's chair with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and despite it largely managing to capture that sense of whimsy and excitement Spielberg delivered in four films, it feels like too little (yet also too much), too late."

What's The Story of Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny?

The iconic Harrison Ford returned for one last adventure as Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny premiered in theaters on June 30th. Lucasfilm's latest film in the long-running franchise sees Dr. Jones team up with his goddaughter Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) in a race against nefarious forces to secure a powerful artifact. The duo will go up against the mysterious former Nazi-turned-NASA scientist Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), and the film also features stars Boyd Holbrook, Antonio Banderas, Toby Jones, and John Rhys Davies. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is directed by James Mangold and is Ford's final appearance as the iconic archeologist.

Have you seen Indiana Jones and the dial of Destiny yet? Let us know in the comments!