Spoilers Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny grade and discussion

[Mr. Adventure]

My luke-warm take is that unlike Star Wars, there hasn’t been years and years of new content to draw in new, younger fans. All of the non-movie content for Indy came out when we were still young.

This is the first movie I have seen in a theater in approximately 2 years. So I would imagine a lot of the 45-60 year olds who grew up with Indy are waiting for the stream.

The only younger kids I saw today in the mostly filled theater were with their parents.

How many kids go see action movies starring 80-year-olds? Did a lot of them go to see Taken? Then the movie is set 50 years ago with enemies from 80 years ago. I'm not sure how relatable it is for them, I think the points of reference have changed. When we went to Back to the Future as kids Marty only went back 30 years, that'd be like going back to 1993 now.

I think another factor is that going to a movie may not be as casual a thing now that the prices for so much has gone up. I bet a lot of families have been a little tighter on expenses.

 

[marillion]

But… Wasn’t 1993 only like 10 years ago?

This hurts my brain.

 

[Wingcommanderdarkwolf01]

But… Wasn’t 1993 only like 10 years ago?

This hurts my brain.

No it's 30 years ago.

 

[1001001]

yep - 47 - thought I would wait for streaming. Unlike Top Gun Maverick it did not feel like it need a trip to the cinema.

Interesting. I felt the exact opposite.

I basically save my theater experiences for the big budget blockbusters, the ones I think will benefit from being on the big screen. Indy 5 definitely made that cut. The “golf cart” chase, the airplane sequence…good stuff!

I’m really looking forward to seeing “No Hard Feelings” but that can wait until streaming, because I don’t imagine any benefit to a big screen experience.

I was talking to an actor friend of mine the other day, and he cautioned me that viewing movies this way will eventually lead to only big blockbusters being released in theaters.

And now that Indy 5 is on track to lose up to $200 million dollars, maybe even worse things are coming…

 

[Noname Given]

1. Ark
2. Crusade
3. Dial
4.Skull
5. Temple<- For me this one was 'burn the negatives' bad.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Solid A. In the top three of the Indiana Jones films.

 

[Jedi Marso]

Interesting. I felt the exact opposite.

I basically save my theater experiences for the big budget blockbusters, the ones I think will benefit from being on the big screen. Indy 5 definitely made that cut. The “golf cart” chase, the airplane sequence…good stuff!

I’m really looking forward to seeing “No Hard Feelings” but that can wait until streaming, because I don’t imagine any benefit to a big screen experience.

I was talking to an actor friend of mine the other day, and he cautioned me that viewing movies this way will eventually lead to only big blockbusters being released in theaters.

And now that Indy 5 is on track to lose up to $200 million dollars, maybe even worse things are coming…

If only big blockbusters are released in theaters, maybe we eventually see a return to an older theater model, where instead of multiple screens, theaters only have 1-4 screens and it's a much smaller, tighter operation. Theaters have not helped themselves with the raping of their customers in terms of concession prices, and this new trend of having to choose assigned seats. I like to walk into a theater, size up the attendance, pick a seat based on that, and then be able to move if I want to.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

If only big blockbusters are released in theaters, maybe we eventually see a return to an older theater model, where instead of multiple screens, theaters only have 1-4 screens and it's a much smaller, tighter operation. Theaters have not helped themselves with the raping of their customers in terms of concession prices, and this new trend of having to choose assigned seats. I like to walk into a theater, size up the attendance, pick a seat based on that, and then be able to move if I want to.

I largely agree, although I'm torn on selecting seats. On the one hand, I also like just flowing into the theater as you described, but on the other hand, it's a nice convivence of not having to worry about getting to your seat as fast possible and you can take you time to use the restroom, etc. (even if I never get concessions). I first encountered selecting seats more than a decade ago in Japan and I thought it was a terrific idea.

The only real flaw with it is when dealing with a particular theater for the first time and not knowing the layout of the screen (and some screens are laid out differently from each other within the same theater), which can be a bit of a crapshoot. My primary theater recently changed to NCG and it's weirdly laid out where the walkway goes down the third (or so) of the seats instead of the middle or just the sides like most theaters, so it was hard the first few times guessing where the ideal seat is (for me, middle, middle).

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I was reluctanct with the seating thing but I like being able to arrive just before the picture starts and knowing I have a seat and not having to get there early and sit around to get a good seat (or any). No more having to scoot down when you have a good spot to squeeze some group in that got there five minutes after the picture started.

It is less social though and I wonder if it does affect the box office some. I don't go if I can't get a good seat where as it used to be a crapshoot and a balancing act between how long you were willing to wait to guarantee you weren't sitting in the hinterlands.

 

[1001001]

I like reserved seats.

For sure.

 

[marillion]

At first I didn’t like it, but I have adapted!

 

[TerryTrek]

So this appears to be another bomb in a year of bombs.

So why do people think people have not turned out? Poor marketing? The franchise is just past it?

The franchise could have been a big hit, Top Gun proves legacy franchises can come back when done with care. It ultimately comes down to the film itself and it's appeal (or lack of).

We'll know by next week whether the film has poor Word of Mouth, depending on it's hold.

It's going to be an interesting post-mortem to watch. A 300M budget, plus advertising costs. That's mad.

Even the Hollywood trades can't spin this;
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is looking to hit the bottom rung of its tracking projection of $60M Sunday morning, there’s no question this is a disastrous result for the finale to a historically beloved franchise film.

https://deadline.com/2023/07/box-office-indiana-jones-and-the-dial-of-destiny-1235427644/

 

[Skywalker]

The box office is a major bummer. I think it deserved to do better. But, at the same time, this was supposed to be Indy's last ride, and I don't really have an interest in seeing the franchise continue beyond him, so maybe it's for the best that Disney won't be tempted to make more.

 

[Awesome Possum]

If I had any complaints it's that the action scenes at night look awful. I don't know if it were just the theater I was in or the film itself, but you can barely tell what's happening. I've had the same issue with other recent movies, I don't know if it's because of too much CG or no one knowing how to film at night anymore. Except for Jordan Peele, the night scenes in Nope look amazing.

 

[marillion]

I wish I knew how to explain why Top Gun Maverick, which by comparison is no where near as good as Indy 5, has been the enigma as far as blockbusters go. The movies appeal to the same age group. Did I enjoy Maverick? Yes. Did I go see it in the theater? No. Tom Cruise and Fast/Furious movies always seem to do well. Is it the dumb summer popcorn movie factor vs. a bit higher form of action movie? Maybe. Flash had it's own outlying problems, so I don't think we can add that to the discussion. I dunno.

 

[EyalM]

It was... fine. But that's probably its biggest problem: there is nothing here to justify the movie's existence. Hell, like Raiders, Indy could have stayed in bed and the outcome would have been the same.

It was ok to pass a couple of hours. Could have used a trimming of the chase sequences. At one point my wife was rolling her eyes "another chase...???"

 

[Starscream2112]

I just don't think the market can handle this many blockbusters so close together post Covid.

 

[the G-man]

I wish I knew how to explain why Top Gun Maverick, which by comparison is no where near as good as Indy 5, has been the enigma as far as blockbusters go.

The simplest answer is that your opinion as to the relative merits of the two films, while completely valid as that, is just not shared by the majority of the public.

 

[Jedi Marso]

I wish I knew how to explain why Top Gun Maverick, which by comparison is no where near as good as Indy 5, has been the enigma as far as blockbusters go. The movies appeal to the same age group. Did I enjoy Maverick? Yes. Did I go see it in the theater? No. Tom Cruise and Fast/Furious movies always seem to do well. Is it the dumb summer popcorn movie factor vs. a bit higher form of action movie? Maybe. Flash had it's own outlying problems, so I don't think we can add that to the discussion. I dunno.

On the face of it, the explanation would be that your idea of a blockbuster hit varies from that of the majority of the moviegoing public.

 

[UssGlenn]

I wish I knew how to explain why Top Gun Maverick, which by comparison is no where near as good as Indy 5, has been the enigma as far as blockbusters go. The movies appeal to the same age group.

Maverick was a much more feel good movie. Maverick has still got all his skills and a unequivocally upbeat happy ending. People felt good leaving the theater and told their friends, so the movie had legs.

Indy is much older than Maverick, so he can't rise to his previous heights. Then at the end he reunites with Marion, but their son is still dead and they are still living in a crappy NYC apartment. (What happened to his nice house from CS?) It just doesn't end strong.

It was... fine. But that's probably its biggest problem: there is nothing here to justify the movie's existence. Hell, like Raiders, Indy could have stayed in bed and the outcome would have been the same

If he'd stayed in bed they never would have found the first half of the dial. He wasn't even on their radar as a connection to the dial. At least in Raiders he saved Marions life (who would have probably been killed when the Nazis eventually tracked her down for the headpiece).