Harrison Ford has played Indiana Jones for decades.

 His incredible star power and George Lucas’ unbelievably good storytelling ushered fans to movie theaters time and again. 

The Indiana Jones franchise has made huge amounts at the box office. 

However, it doesn’t seem as if Ford inspired the same amount of enthusiasm as he once did in the franchise’s newest film, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

The film certainly hurt the movie studios and their executives, but did starring as the famous pop culture character one last time hurt Ford’s wallet too? 

The studios always paid the character actor handsomely to dodge massive rolling boulders and fight enemies, all while finding some of the most precious artifacts known to man. 

Ford’s already impressive $300 million net worth should’ve gone up with Dial of Destiny, surely.

Harrison Ford has racked up over 80 acting credits to his name since he started in the movie-making business in the 1960s. However, none of his films have paid him as well as the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. His films have grossed $9 billion globally, making him one of the highest-grossing stars, and for that, movie executives have given Ford impressive salaries over the years.

According to FandomWire, movie executives paid Ford $5.9 million for the first Indiana Jones film, Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).

Interestingly, he was paid less for The Temple of Doom (1984), the franchise’s second film, taking home just $4.5 million. The Last Crusade (1989) gave him a payday of $4.9 million.

Many years passed between Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). Suddenly, many movie stars, even veterans, were securing big contracts and being paid bigger salaries for blockbusters, and Ford was no exception. For reprising his famous action hero in The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Ford was paid his highest Indiana Jones salary.

Men’s Health reported that for The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the actor took home a whopping $65 million. However, Ford took a massive pay cut for the long-awaited Indiana Jones 5.

According to FandomWire, Harrison Ford took a $45 million pay cut for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. He was paid only $25 million. In today’s world, where actors sometimes make over $100 million for blockbusters, that number is extremely low.

However, it’s worth pointing out that Ford got even less for closing out his other famous character, Han Solo, in Star Wars: A Force Awakens. He made only $15 million. Sure, he made an extra $10 million in the back end, but even $25 million sounds pretty low for Han Solo’s last film. Both Solo and Indy gave fans some of the most famous moments in cinematic history after all.

Since Dial of Destiny flopped, Ford might not even get much in the backend. Certainly, not as much as he got for Force Awakens. However, how much has Dial of Destiny pulled in so far?

After being one of the biggest blockbuster franchises in film for decades, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny slowly managed to scrape by at the box office during its opening weekend.

According to Movie Web, insiders predicted the film would open to about $140 million over its long holiday weekend, with $60 million domestic and $80 million overseas. On opening day, Dial of Destiny only saw a $24 million haul, which only grew to $60.4 million over the three-day weekend and $83.9 million for the five-day holiday weekend. Its worldwide global debut is estimated at $130 million. As of July 5, 2023, the total worldwide gross for the film is $159.6 million.

Those totals are estimates, but they still aren’t good for a film with a budget of somewhere between $250 and $300 million. That doesn’t include any marketing totals, which could raise a few hundred million more. Before Dial of Destiny, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull held the record for the franchise’s highest budget at $185 million. Meanwhile, Raiders of the Lost Arc only cost $18 million to make.

In 1981, Raiders’ opening weekend netted $8.3 million, which is low compared to today’s standards, but the film was still playing in theaters nine months after its release in March 1982. By then, it had raked in $212.2 million. Its overseas total of $141.7 million was the highest at the time. The total came to $354 million, equivalent to roughly $1.1 billion today.

Temple of Doom made a then-record $45.7 million in its 1984 opening weekend. It grossed less than Raiders at $333.1 million but had a stronger overseas gross of $153.1 million. Last Crusade opened with $37 million over the holiday weekend in 1989. Most of the profits came from overseas, $277 million of the $474.2 million total.

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull netted $790 million worldwide. It made $101 million on opening weekend, $317 million domestically, and $474 million overseas, becoming the highest-grossing film in the franchise unadjusted for inflation.

So, compared to the franchise’s other films, Dial of Destiny will be considered a flop, unfortunately. However, at least Ford got to play his famous character one last time and even got a pretty emotional minutes-long standing ovation for his final portrayal at the Cannes Film Festival.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny might have hurt both Ford’s and movie studio executives ‘ pocketbooks, but it’s nostalgic and emotional saying goodbye to a beloved character after so many decades.

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