Harrison Ford on ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ Box Office Flop: “S*** Happens” – Hollywood Reporter
Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterSubscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter”I was really the one who felt there was another story to tell,” the actor said of the fifth installment in the franchise.
By
Lexy Perez
Associate Editor
Harrison Ford is unfazed by the last Indiana Jones film flopping at the box office.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal published Wednesday, the Captain America: Brave New World actor looked back on the lackluster performance at the box office to Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the fifth and final installment in the Indiana series.
Following its 2023 release, the film opened to an underwhelming $60.4 million at the domestic box office which wasn’t as successful when comparing to the previous four Indiana films.
Related Stories
Movies
‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Shows Disney Can’t Escape the Culture Wars
TV
‘1923’ Trailer: Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren Fight to Save Their Montana Ranch
“Shit happens,” Ford told WSJ of the response to the film. “I was really the one who felt there was another story to tell. When [Indy] had suffered the consequences of the life that he had to live, I wanted one more chance to pick him up and shake the dust off his ass and stick him out there, bereft of some of his vigor, to see what happened.”
Despite the film not being as successful as the others Ford said, “I’m still happy I made that movie.”
James Mangold directed the film and developed the script for Dial of Destiny. When discussing working with Mangold versus Steven Spielberg, Ford told The Hollywood Reporter in his February 2023 cover story, “I knew what we were getting when we were going in that direction. But Steven’s still on the picture and has always been on the picture. He’s not the director this time, but he’s intimately involved.”
Of working on the fifth film Ford also said he loved that audiences were meeting Jones “at a different point in his life to where we’ve seen him in these other films. It’s a logical place for him to be at this stage, considering his behavior and what he spent his time doing.”
Despite the lackluster box office, Ford is no stranger to critics commenting on any of the Indiana films. When looking back on how critics were “harsh” at the time on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull which also starred Shia LaBeouf, Ford said given critics “were imposing their rules on what the movie should be” he didn’t deem it necessary to address them. “I think that everyone has a right to their opinion. The film was not as successful as we wanted it to be, perhaps. But it didn’t create an attitude or a behavior that carried over into this film,” he said.
Now having been finished with both the Indiana Jones and Star Wars franchises, Ford is next set to take on the Marvel Universe by starring as the Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World.
Ford said he signed on to the film despite not seeing a script. “I saw enough Marvels to see actors that I admired having a good time,” he told WSJ. He also quipped of his role as the Red Hulk, “I didn’t really know that at the end I would turn into the Red Hulk.”
“Well, it’s like life,” Ford added. “You only get so far in the kit until the last page of the instructions is missing.”Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every daySign up for THR news straight to your inbox every daySubscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterSend us a tip using our anonymous form.
