After Pandemic Box Office Slump, Europe Expects Strong Comeback With ‘Barbie,’ ‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘Indiana Jones’

Disney has been the Teflon movie studio, remarkably adept at withstanding the tectonic changes impacting the film industry, and well fortified by its arsenal of key properties such as Marvel, Lucasfilm and Pixar. But this year, the long-reigning titan of the box office has shown cracks as four of its biggest releases from those brands and others have struggled in theaters. There was the dispiriting release of “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” a rare Marvel movie to likely lose tens of millions in its theatrical run; “The Little Mermaid,” a remake of the 1989 classic that fell drastically short of expectations; “Elemental,” an original story that tried and failed to recapture Pixar’s magic; and most recently “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” a nearly $300 million investment in one of cinemas’ most venerable franchises, which no longer appears to have the same hold on today’s audiences. On paper, these films seemed like they had all of the makings of huge hits, but somehow the Disney sparkle was lacking this time, in terms of filling movie theater seats.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Harrison Ford just wrapped up his tenure as Indiana Jones in the franchise’s fifth installment, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” which opened in theaters just a few weeks before the actor’s 81st birthday. Tom Cruise hopes to have the same longevity when it comes to playing Ethan Hunt in Paramount’s long-running “Mission: Impossible” franchise. Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald at the Australian premiere of “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” Cruise said he wants to keep making “Mission: Impossible” movies until he is Ford’s age. Cruise just turned 61 years old on July 3, 2023. “Harrison Ford is a legend; I hope to be still going. I’ve got 20 years to catch up with him,” Cruise said. “I hope to keep making ‘Mission: Impossible’ films until I’m his age.”

J. Kim Murphy “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” is staying in line with some tempered box office expectations, still tracking to fall in line with estimates that had pegged the film with an opening between $80 million and $85 million through the Fourth of July holiday. The Harrison Ford finale earned $11.8 million on Monday, pushing its domestic total to $71 million. Unlike some other holidays, Independence Day isn’t exactly the largest box office booster — with families hitting the beach, barbecuing red meat and waiting for fireworks, filmgoing isn’t exactly at the top of the agenda for most Americans. Rather, it’s the time off around the Fourth that can offer some extra lift to studio tentpoles.

Naman Ramachandran Disney’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £7.1 million ($9 million), according to numbers released by Comscore. The release marked the fifth biggest opening weekend for a film in 2023 in the territory, including previews, with a market share of 43%. In its fifth weekend, Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” racked up a further £1.5 million in second place, taking its total to £25.9 million. Universal’s “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken” debuted in third position with £885,056. In its sixth weekend, Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” earned £837,859 in fourth place for a total of £25 million.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Chinese mystery drama “Lost in the Stars” expanded in its second week on release and gave China its third biggest box office weekend of the year. The film earned $117 million, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. That was significantly up from its opening weekend of $70.7 million (RMB502 million) a week earlier and enough to make it the second biggest film on the planet, behind “Indiana Jones,” according to Comscore. After two weekends on release, it has accumulated $320 million. “Lost in the Stars” is a Chinese adaptation of a 1990 Russian movie “A Trap for the Lonely Man,” which itself was adapted from a Robert Thomas stage play. It sees a woman disappear while on an overseas trip with her husband. Just as mysteriously, she reappears at the moment that the search for her is running out of steam. But the man refuses to accept that she is the same woman and believes that she is an imposter.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Pixar animation film “Elemental” expanded at the South Korean box office in its third weekend of release and easily bested new release title “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” “Elemental” earned $5.27 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the box office tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). That represented a 38% increase on its previous weekend performance and was the best of its three weekends so far. It also increased its market share to 39%, also its strongest market position, despite only adding a handful of additional screens. After 19 days on release, “Elemental” has amassed $16.9 million from 2.25 million spectators.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” is stumbling in its box office debut, generating $70 million internationally and $130 million globally to start. Those ticket sales wouldn’t be bad for a film aimed at older audiences, except for the fact that Disney and Lucasfilm spent $295 million before marketing to bring the fifth and final action-adventure, starring Harrison Ford, to the big screen. “Dial of Destiny” is posting similar numbers to Warner Bros. and DC’s misfire “The Flash,” which opened to $75 million internationally and $139 million globally but cost $100 million less to make. Both tentpoles are expected to lose money in their theatrical runs.

Refresh for latest…: Disney/Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is off to a disappointing start with a $130M global opening. Of that, $70M is from 52 international box office markets as the the fifth installment in the beloved 42-year-old franchise came in below projections.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Disney’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” lassoed the top spot on domestic box office charts, collecting an underwhelming $60 million in its opening weekend. That’s a decent amount of money for a tentpole that’s aimed at older audiences, but “Indiana Jones 5,” one of the most expensive movies ever, cost $295 million before marketing. It’ll take a heroic feat, one that would test even an enduring legend like Indiana Jones, for the fifth installment in the decades-old franchise to become profitable in its theatrical run. It was a disappointing weekend at the box office as “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken,” a $70 million-budgeted family film from DreamWorks and Universal, cratered in its sixth-place debut with $5.2 million. In addition to “Dial of Destiny” and “Ruby Gillman,” the DC superhero adventure “The Flash” tumbled to the No. 8 spot in its third weekend of release with $5 million, another embarrassing 67% drop. It has yet to cross $100 million domestically, with ticket sales at $99.2 million to date.

according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo.The film stars Harrison Ford in his fifth and final portrayal of archeologist-extraordinaire Jones. “While Ford is scrappy and lovable as ever, Indy was never a role that should have been played for 41 years,” The Post said.“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” remained in second place this week, taking home $3.435 million.

“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” hit theatres on Friday, but given the long-awaited sequel’s weak opening-day numbers, a better title may have been “Indiana Jones and the Box Office of Doom”.

J. Kim Murphy Indiana Jones has begun his last box office crusade, with the fifth franchise entry earning $24 million on its opening day from 4,600 theaters. It’s a figure that includes $7.2 million in previews in Thursday previews. The action-adventure film from Disney and Lucasfilm is expected to debut near the bottom of projections, projecting a three-day opening of $60 million or so. It’ll be more than enough for the Harrison Ford finale to land in the top spot on domestic charts, setting itself up to draw crowds through the Fourth of July holiday — but it’s not exactly the victorious tone-setter for one of the 20 or so most expensive blockbusters ever made. With a whopping $295 million production budget, “Indiana Jones 5” faces quite the trek to theatrical profitability.

SATURDAY AM: Refresh for chart…and more analysis Disney/Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is still bound to open at the bottom of end of tracking’s projection of $60M as this morning. I saw an estimate in The Flash vicinity of $55M last night and took an Alka Seltzer out of shock. Hopefully Dial of Destiny doesn’t fall apart tonight and at least stays on course for a Mission: Impossible – Fallout type opening in the $60M range over three days. That figure might be good for exhibition and popcorn sales over the five-day holiday weekend, but it stinks for a movie that has a reported cost of $250M to near $300M before P&A.

Jordan Moreau 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.

revealed to Yahoo! that he didn’t even know at the time that Selleck had originally been attached to — and subsequently left — the project. Han Solo himself had just polished off filming the “Star Wars” flick “The Empire Strikes Back,” and director George Lucas asked him to read for the character of Jones.

off-its-rocker “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”, which had Indy survive a nuclear explosion by hiding inside a refrigerator — and ended with a Spielbergian alien encounter.Running time: 154 minutes. Rated PG-13 (sequences of violence and action, language and smoking.) In theaters June 30.Of course, we always feel happy seeing Harrison Ford — the greatest American action star ever — back in the iconic fedora, even at 80 years old.And Phoebe Waller-Bridge of “Fleabag” adds a welcome dose of spit and vinegar as Helena Shaw, Jones’ goddaughter and latest co-adventurer. But I still left asking “Why?” Everybody knows the Indy series should’ve called it quits with 1989’s “The Last Crusade,” after Indiana Jones and his dad, Dr.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” is gunning for the top spot on box office charts. The fifth and final adventure to star Harrison Ford as the legendary, globe-trotting explorer is targeting at least $65 million from 4,500 North American theaters in its opening weekend. The latest Indy installment is also debuting day-and-date at the international box office, where it’s aiming to add $80 million for a global start of $145 million to $150 million. Those ticket sales are decent, especially for the fourth sequel to a decades-old property that’s aimed at older audiences. But Disney spent a mind-boggling $295 million to bring the action-adventure to life. That’s not including marketing costs, such as a no-expense-spared premiere and afterparty at the Cannes Film Festival where much champagne was tippled. Even in the best circumstances, it’ll take a heroic feat — and a lot of nostalgia from long-time fans of the series — for “Indiana Jones 5” to turn a profit in its theatrical run.

Facing the worst reviews ever for an Indiana Jones movie, the Lucasfilm franchise finale, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, is hoping to gain traction with audiences and best its $60M-$65M domestic start, $140M global opening.

Naman Ramachandran Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse” swung back to pole position atop the U.K. and Ireland box office, dethroning Warner Bros.’ “The Flash” in the process. In its fourth weekend, “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse” collected £1.99 million ($2.5 million) for a total of £23.4 million, according to numbers from Comscore. In its second weekend, “The Flash” took £1.3 million for a total of £6.7 million. Sony’s “No Hard Feelings” bowed in third place with £1.18 million, while Universal’s “Asteroid City” debuted close behind in fourth position with £1.17 million.

$2.3 billion “Avatar: The Way of Water” raked in last Christmas — movie theaters are back to being an armory of high-profile bombs. This weekend, wobbly Warner Bros.’ “The Flash” dropped a staggering 73% in its second week to a worldwide total of just $210 million. A more-than-50% decline for an expensive DC Comics superhero film spells trouble.Consider that fellow Justice League member “Aquaman” made $229 million by his second weekend in the US and Canada alone.Pixar’s uninspired “Elemental,” released June 16 and so far having grossed $121 million, will wind up as one of the Disney-owned animation studio’s biggest failures ever.