Friday, December 6, 2024

Fifth “Indiana Jones” Scared Off on Second Friday by Low Budget Horror Film Also Fifth in Series, Makes Half as Much

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Ouch!

Poor Indiana Jones. On the second Friday of release, “Dial of Destiny” made half as much as “Insidious,” a horror film sequel that had a fraction of the former film’s budget. Indy took in just $7.6 million last night.

Strangely, they are each the fifth in a series. “Dial of Destiny” wraps up a 40 year history. “Insidious” is probably going to be followed by many more scarefests with the same branding.

So ignominious for Indy to be beaten by Insidious. What instigated this?

The news is also insulting on two other levels: “Dial of Destiny” made little more than $15 million on its first Friday. Yikes. And “Dial of Destiny” was already beaten once this week by an indie upstart called “Sound of Freedom.”

Who takes responsibility for this at Disney, the home of “Dial of Destiny”? The same people might be questioned about Pixar’s “Elemental,” which has scored just $103 million in 22 days — and there’s no school!

Something has gone terribly wrong.

As for Indy, now I’m reading interviews with Karen Allen in which she says she’s angry about not being in the movie more, and thought the script would have involved her character, Marion, more than just arriving at the end. Who would ever think Karen Allen would be giving negative interviews? That speaks volumes.

Add to that the deep displeasure of fans toward Phoebe Waller Bridge as Indy’s goddaughter, and you can start to tally up the problems.

Would it have been better to just bring back Shia LaBeouf as Indy and Marion’s son, Mutt? Or invent another young male character as Indy’s brash student and buddy? Monday morning quarterbacking is easy, but you do wonder…

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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