Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | July 3, 2023
We’re now in the middle of Summer and that means we’re ready for a whole heap of big movies. Well, that’s not exactly a change from the past couple of months. Studios seem driven to prove that we’re truly in the post-lockdown age of grosses, but few big releases are proving them right. Indeed, a lot of the heavy hitters seem to be sliding in the opposite direction, from The Flash to Fast X, at least domestically.
Entering the ring is one of Disney’s biggest players for 2023, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Following a soft world premiere at Cannes, reviews got warmer towards the fifth installment in this franchise, and it’s undeniable that this is a series with major pulling power. The original trilogy is among the greatest action films ever made. With James Mangold taking over directorial duties from Steven Spielberg, Dial of Destiny predictably took the top spot at the box office this weekend, but only with a $60 million opening from 4,600 theatres. That seems rather mild, right? I think a lot of studios need to prepare for the realities of lowered grosses in this new age of cinema. But hey, it still did better than The Flash (for the record, that movie is now at number eight on the list, with $99.2 million domestically in the space of three weeks. Not great, Zaslav.)
The only other major release of the weekend was Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, the latest animation from DreamWorks. It seemed clear from the get-go that the studio was basically dumping this one before anyone would even notice it was a thing, even though reviews were solid and it looks like a cute little movie. Alas, it debuted at number six with only $5.2 million from 3,400 cinemas.
This coming week sees the release of the comedy Joy Ride and the horror sequel Insidious: The Red Door.
You can check out the rest of the weekend box office here.
