Disney And Lucasfilm Survey Moviegoers About The Pros & Cons Of ‘Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny’
Jacob Smith
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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has been an unmitigated failure for Lucasfilm and the Walt Disney Company.
James Mangold and Phoebe Waller-Bridge attend the U.S Premiere of Lucasfilms’ Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, sponsored in part by Dolby, Swaine and Hamilton at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, CA on Wednesday, June 14, 2023
(photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)
Lucasfilm is estimated to have spent over 329 million in total production costs for their latest installment in the Indiana Jones franchise and the box office results have been a disaster. At the time of writing, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has only managed to rack up a measly $252 million dollars worldwide.
This means after two full weekends in theaters, the movie has yet to recoup its original production budget. With big-name releases such as Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Barbie, and Oppenheimer, the latest Indiana Jones film from the Kathleen Kennedy-led Lucasfilm is on track to becoming one of the biggest box office bombs of the year.
(L-R): Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) and Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) in Lucasfilm’s INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
Interestingly, early screenings of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny saw Lucasfilm and Disney handing out audience surveys to better evaluate what moviegoers considered to be the pros and cons of the film.
The first half of the survey asked audiences a questions regarding their personal backgrounds, including their gender identity, age, and whether they had children — further inquiring the age range of those kids, if that were the case. Similarly, the second half asked respondents about their thoughts on the film’s characters and other related aspects.
A copy of the 25-question survey was obtained by Bounding Into Comics on opening week.
Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) in Lucasfilm’s INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
The first half of the survey included questions regarding the demographic of their audience such as gender identity, age, if you had children, and the age range of those kids. Conversely, the second half of the inquiry asks moviegoers about their thoughts on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny after watching the two-hour and 34-minute film.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Survey
Question #15 was one that stood out, which asked members of the audience, “What about the film prevents you from recommending it to others?” as it laid out a some of the film’s negatives — as presumably perceived by the studio — for respondents to choose from. These are the following:
- “Not a big enough villain/threat”
- “Too predictable”
- “Too long”
- “Not funny enough”
- “Too complicated for kids”
- “It’s too similar to previous movies”
- “The time travel elements were too far fetched”
- “The ending was too easy and predictable”
- “Confusing story”
- “Not enough action”
- “Harrison Ford seems too old to be Indiana Jones”
- “The dial wasn’t cool enough”
- “Two violent and too intense for children”
- “I don’t like the relationship between Indiana Jones and Helena”
(L-R): Doctor Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen, standing), Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) and Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) in Lucasfilm’s INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
As Disney gives a list of objections to its film, they conveniently leave out more of the narrative-driven objections many fans of the series may have had with the film, including Indiana Jones being portrayed as a depressed old man.
On the flip side, Question #18 of the survey asked audiences, “What did you like about Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny?” According to the studio, these are the aspects of the movie audiences may perceive as positives:
- “The fights”
- “The humor”
- “The music”
- “The chase scenes”
- “The action”
- “Harrison Ford returning as Indiana Jones”
- “New characters (Helena, Renaldo, etc)”
- “Flashback scenes of younger Indiana Jones”
- “The Hunt for the Dial of Destiny”
- “The banter between characters”
- “The new villain Jürgen Voller”
- “The Relationship between Indiana Jones and His Goddaughter Helena”
(L-R): Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) and Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) in Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
It would be safe to speculate that the list of positives reveals what the higher-ups at Lucasfilm believed were aspects of the film that would be well-received by moviegoers.
The fact that they decided to survey members of the audience about what they liked and disliked make about Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny — during the week of the film’s release, no less — can be perceived as a lack of confidence in their own film. As things currently stand, the movie is subject to lose up to $250 million.
CANNES, FRANCE – MAY 18: Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall attend “Indiana Jones and The Dial Of Destiny” party at Carlton Beach on May 18, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images for Disney)
What do you make of Disney and Lucasfilm surveying audiences about their thoughts on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny?
NEXT: ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ Review: A Cantankerous Sequel That Drowns in Hindsight
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