Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is “shaping up to be a disaster of epic proportions for parent company Disney and its veteran CEO, Bob Iger,” Fortune reported.
Dial of Destiny “could potentially rival John Carter as the Mouse House’s worst-ever live-action commercial bomb,” continues the report, “and call into question the future of [Lucasfilm] boss Kathleen Kennedy, a former Fortune Most Powerful Woman.”
John Carter is still seen as one of the most notorious box office failures of all time. Produced in 2012 for $260 to 300 million, it grossed $285 million worldwide. Once you add marketing costs, this $350 million disaster lost Disney somewhere in the range of $200 million. That same year, studio chief Rich Ross resigned.
Luckily for Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy, she has a vagina. Without it, she would have been fired years ago after killing Star Wars as a film franchise.
Disney was a different company in 2012, a sane company where performance mattered more than identity politics and the desire to sexualize absolutely everything, especially children’s content. Disney is now a full-blown, left-wing propaganda outlet, an institution that would never admit Kennedy killed Star Wars and Indiana Jones because to do so would be to admit her obsession with identity politics and sexual fetishes was to blame. That kind of admission can never be allowed.
As of Tuesday, after 20 days in theaters, Dial of Destiny has only grossed $307 million worldwide. At this point, it will be lucky to reach $350 million. Do the math: cost $425 million minus $175 million in net box office receipts (theaters take about half), and you’re looking at a $250 million loss. That is a quarter of a billion dollar loss — not on a risky and obscure John Mars, a property no one under the age of 100 was familiar with. No, that is a quarter of a billion dollar loss on an Indiana Jones movie, one of the most beloved and iconic franchises in Hollywood history.
In 1981, more than 40 years ago and without adjusting for inflation, Raiders of the Lost Ark grossed $380 million worldwide. Adjusted for inflation, that’s $1.275 billion with a “B” in today’s dollars.
In 1984, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom grossed $333 million worldwide. Adjusted for inflation, that’s $977 million.
In 1989, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade grossed $474 million worldwide. Adjusted for inflation, that’s $1.166 billion with a “B.”
In 2008, the dreadful Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull grossed $790 million worldwide. Adjusted for inflation, that’s $1.12 billion with a “B.”
When you factor in inflation, you are talking about Dial of Destiny flopping in ways that seemed inconceivable a couple of months ago: a $250 million loss and an anemic box office haul $700 to $900 million lower than its predecessors. But that’s what happens when you use a sexless, unappealing woman to emasculate a beloved screen hero.
John Carter was a legitimate risk.
But until Kathleen Kennedy got her grubby, talentless, sex-obsessed, leftist hands on it, Indiana Jones was one of the surest things in the world. But, then again, so was Star Wars, and look at what Kennedy did to that.
Can the fact she’s a chick still save Kathleen Kennedy’s job after this fiasco? I don’t know. Transitioning into a black man might be her only hope.
Disney is evil, and good people revel in its every failure.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.