Among the many grand achievements in director Steven Spielberg’s career, the creation of the Indiana Jones franchise stands as one of the most impressive. Spawning five films, the highly underrated television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, several memorable video games, an expansive universe and interconnected books and comics, Indiana Jones is among the most successful adventure sagas of all-time. While the films were heavily inspired by classic adventure serials from the 1930s, Spielberg and George Lucas created a brilliant throwback narrative that nonetheless pulled in a decidedly modern direction. Thanks to the iconic performance by Harrison Ford as the titular character and an all-time great musical score by John Williams, the Indiana Jones series leaves a lasting legacy that will be well-remembered by future generations of cinephiles.
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Despite the good will that the early installments in the series generated, the future of the Indiana Jones franchise is uncertain. While it seemed unlikely that Ford would ever pick up Indy’s bullship again due to his advancing age, the critical and financial underperformance of the fifth installment in the series indicated that younger audiences haven’t been as warmed by Indiana Jones nostalgia as they were by similar legacy sequels in the Star Wars and Ghostbusters franchises. Despite the downward spiral that the series has taken, the Indiana Jones saga is a significant success when taken in totality. Here is every Indiana Jones movie, ranked by its global box office gross.
5 ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’ (1984)
Worldwide gross: $333,107,271
Image via Paramount Pictures
While it ranks as the lowest-grossing installment in the saga, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doomwas a massive commercial hit that became the highest-grossing film of 1984. While some critics and fans were put off by the film’s darker tone and increased level of violence compared to its predecessor, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom still reached an incredible gross of over $300 million at the global box office. Considering that the summer of 1984 was packed with such classics as Ghosbusters, Beverly Hill Cop, The Karate Kid, and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’s overperformance speaks to the inescapable charisma of the titular character.
The film’s strong financial success is somewhat surprising considering that Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was initially deemed to be too violent for a family audience. While its predecessor certainly had some extreme moments of gore, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’s sequences of torture and violence led to the creation of the PG-13 rating. While it’s a film that Spielberg himself disowned because of its “horrific” qualities, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom proved that the character’s initial success was no fluke.
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4 ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ (2023)
Worldwide gross: $383,963,057
Image via Lucasfilm
Despite being one of the most highly anticipated films of 2023, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destinysank at the global box office and became one of the biggest financial disasters of Disney’s challenging year. The disappointment can be partially blamed on the ballooning budget, but the reviews for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny were generally lackluster. While the film wasn’t as venomously attacked by fans in the same way that the previous installment in the series had been, the general consensus was that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny lacked the unique quality that had hallmarked the original trilogy. James Mangold is certainly a talented filmmaker, but the bland nature of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny proved that he was no Spielberg. The film grossed a mere $383 million globally.
Although the film was ostensibly marketed to a nostalgic audience in the same way that The Force Awakens had been eight years earlier, the film’s underperformance proved that younger audiences didn’t have the same affinity for Indiana Jones that they had for Star Wars. While Star Wars had permeated in the public consciousness due to the animated television shows and expanded universe that had been developed, it had been well over a decade since a new Indiana Jones movie had hit theaters. This was apparently enough time for audiences to move on, and the use of a digitally de-aged version of Ford certainly didn’t help recapture the past. Indicating that the series, like Ford himself, was past its prime, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny marked a bitter end to one of the most popular film characters ever.
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3 ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ (1981)
Worldwide gross: $389,925,971
Image via Paramount Pictures
Although Spielberg had essentially created “blockbuster cinema” with the success of Jaws in 1975, Raiders of the Lost Ark was a cultural phenomenon that became one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful films of the 1980s. Similar to the way in which Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back had revitalized the science fiction genre, Raiders of the Lost Ark paved an exciting path forward for the future of action-adventure cinema. With a worldwide gross of over $389 million, Raiders of the Lost Ark was both the biggest movie of 1981 and an Academy Award nominee for Best Picture. Subsequent revival screenings have only pushed its global sum even higher.
While there was certainly an amount of enthusiasm based on the manner in which the film was initially received, much of Raiders of the Lost Ark’s box office success can be attributed to its rewatchability. The film is an action-packed romp from the iconic Golden Idol opening sequence to the brutally intense truck chase, which were scenes so rapturously entertaining that it demanded viewers see the film multiple times in theaters. Given the influence of “blockbuster cinema” at the time of Raiders of the Lost Ark’s release, the film remained in theaters for many weekends, attracting increased attention due to strong word-of-mouth. While it would eventually be surpassed by other sequels that had the benefit of name recognition, it’s impressive that an original film like Raiders of the Lost Ark was such a significant hit.
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2 ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ (1989)
Worldwide gross: $474,171,806
Image via Paramount Pictures
Despite the five-year gap after the release of the previous film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusadeoverperformed at the box office and became the highest grossing film in the series at the time of its release. Given how deeply Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom had resonated with audiences, it’s not at all surprising that the hype for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was significantly greater. Nonetheless, the film’s incredible global box office total of over $474 million can’t simply be attributed to nostalgia; there was clearly enthusiasm for the film, which marked a heartfelt conclusion to the original trio of films.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade succeeded on the promise of revealing more about the central character, as the opening sequence featuring River Phoenix offered a glimpse into Indy’s past, which had long since been kept secret. The appearance of Sean Connery as Indy’s father, Henry Jones Sr., also contributed to the film’s financial success, as Connery was a well-recognized star thanks to the enduring popularity of the James Bond franchise.
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1 ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ (2008)
Worldwide gross: $790,653,942
Image via Disney
Despite generally being considered a disappointment by fans of the franchise, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was a colossal box office hit that still ranks as the highest-grossing installment in the series. Although the film had spent years in development hell, causing many to believe that it would never actually be released, the reunion of Spielberg, Lucas, and Ford for the first time since 1989 was apparently too much for viewers to ignore. As controversial as the film’s science fiction twist ended up being, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’s global box office gross of over $790 million indicated that at least some audiences had been satisfied. It became one of the biggest hits of Spielberg’s career, an impressive achievement considering how many all-time blockbusters he has on his resume.
When compared to the nostalgia-heavy direction of its subsequent sequel, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a much better film than its given credit for. While Ford got to pay tribute to his past work in the franchise, the film made the decision to acknowledge that Indy was a much older character and was no longer capable of what he once did on a routine basis. Between its epic chase scenes, the heartfelt return of Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood, and easily the most humor out of any installment in the franchise, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull managed to give the audience enough of what they knew while also pushing the franchise in a new direction. While its creative success is lower, the fourth installment in the series dwarves its predecessors when it comes to the financial sum.
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