The Disney Grooming Syndicate lost $134.2 million on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, per financial statements reviewed by Forbes.
Per Forbes, the flop’s total budget before promotion costs swelled to $387.2 million. Worldwide, it grossed a pathetic $384 million. A safe calculation is that after the theaters take their cut, the studios receive 50 percent of the gross. In this case, that would be $192 million.
Once you add in promotion costs and subtract tax incentives… Forbes estimates a $134 million loss, which seems reasonable. Over the next decade or so, thanks to what’s known as “ancillary” — television licensing, home video, etc. — Dial of Destiny could creep into the black. Still, an Indiana Jones movie is supposed to guarantee hundreds of millions in profits, not a long slog toward breaking even.
Even if you don’t account for 16 years of inflation, Dial of Destiny still grossed about $400 million less worldwide than 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull—$787 million compared to $384 million.
Without inflation, in 1981, Raiders of the Lost Ark grossed $367 million worldwide. Temple of Doom earned $333 million in 1984. Last Crusade earned $474 million.
To understand just what a failure Dial of Destiny is, here is the worldwide gross comparison when adjusted for inflation:
- Raiders: $1.276 billion
- Temple of Doom: $994 million
- Last Crusade: $1.186 billion
- Crystal Skull: $1.134 billion
- Dial of Destiny: $384 million
Dial of Destiny not only came in last place, it is $610 million behind second-to-last place.
No one in the entertainment media dares tell you the truth, but this is how much trouble the Disney brand is in. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is dreadful, one of the worst major franchise sequels I have ever seen. At the time, it felt like I was the only one saying so, but America appears to have caught up with me. Nevertheless, that hunk of crap still made a freaken fortune. That’s how much goodwill the franchise and the character of Indiana Jones had built up over the decades.
But then Disney comes along, scoops up Lucasfilm, and destroys everything it touches, including Star Wars. Instead of being fun, sexy, and compelling, everything Disney produces is anti-fun and anti-human nature. Our heroes are emasculated and/or have their best qualities betrayed. Suddenly, there’s gay sex, political lectures, scolding, and affirmative action. No joy. No laughs. Just oppressive guilt and insults. You can’t even relax and enjoy the movie because you know another left-wing sucker punch is coming.
The good news is that Normal People rejected Dial of Destiny, and the groomers lost more than half a billion dollars.
They can’t force us to pay for this garbage. At least not yet…
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