Indy V's Potential Box Office Haul

deckard24

New member
James said:
...or Raiders back in 1981.

I see where you're coming from, but that type of thing generally doesn't happen with every sequel. It didn't with Blair Witch 2 or Batman Begins.

I think the low-key marketing owed more to the fact that Indy 4 was such a long awaited project. Audiences didn't really need to be sold on the idea of going to see another Indiana Jones film, and everyone involved knew it.

But while I don't expect Indy to ever be "the" must-see film of the summer again, it's also in a category that most franchises would love to inhabit: The "Of Course I'll See" film.

Much like Star Wars, audiences will probably continue to go see Indy films as long as they are being made. Many fans were absolutely gutted by The Phantom Menace, but it didn't stop them from going to see Attack of the Clones or Revenge of the Sith. None of those were really "the" must-see film either- even TPM was upstaged by The Matrix- but it didn't exactly hurt them at the box office.
Good points!:hat:

Though I won't rule out Indy V being a "must-see film" completely! If it looks like an even better picture then KOTCS, has dynamite marketing, and one hell of a McGuffin, there's potential for an even bigger box office then KOTCS's! It's not likely, but possible! Only time will tell.
 
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caats

New member
i think for a lot of people. Indy IV didn't kill off their interest in Indy V. if there's good buzz from it, people will go see it. and y'know, if it's made, and it's better but it doesn't make as much money. in 10 years, nobody'll care how much money it made if it's a good movie.
 
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deckard24

New member
caats said:
i think for a lot of people. Indy IV didn't kill off their interest in Indy V. if there's good buzz from it, people will go see it.
That's true, and regardless of KOTCS's mixed reviews, Indy V (if it's made!) will still be a hit! How big of a hit is the question? A modest $250 Million Domestic/$600 Million Worldwide hit, or a $350-400 Million Domestic/$800-900 Million Worldwide Blockbuster?
 

IndyJr.

New member
Harrison Ford ... Indiana Jones
Shia LaBeouf ... Mutt Jones
Natalie Portman ... Mutt's Girl
Clint Eastwood ... American Archeological Rival (Villain)

It'll do good if that happens. :p
 

DIrishB

New member
Moedred said:
If it's halfway decent and the beards announce it's the end of the saga, it would do as well as KotCS or better. Star Wars 3 and Lord of the Rings 3 showed that people turn up for a final installment. The Harry Potter 7 double dip anticipates this phenomenon, the appeal to completionists.

Very good point.

deckard24 said:
  • Fantastic Marketing/Great Storyline/Dynamic Villain/Excellent Word of Mouth
    $325-350 million Domestic $800-900 million Worldwide

  • So-So Marketing/Okay Storyline/Mediocre Villain/So-So Word of Mouth
    $230-260 million Domestic $600-700 million Worldwide

$785 million worldwide, actually...should read $700-800 million. Which is damn good, no matter how you slice it. By the end of this year I'm sure DVD sales will push that profit number well over a billion. Any movie that grosses that much usually warrants a sequel (at least by the studio heads). Its a financial success, and a definitive one. Its budget was 185 million, it made 785 million, ie 600 million profit, minues whatever other additional costs = still a hell of a lot of money and a notable financial success in the eyes of the studio heads. If George, Steven, and Harrison are all in, the studios definitely will be too. In fact, the studios may even ask for another, before George even pitches it. Thats all I'm saying.

Caats, you're right it was a different kind of beast altogether! The viral campaign + Ledger's death created a buzz that was almost impossible to ignore! In my opinion if Indy V is to top KOTCS, a viral campaign or at least better marketing will be a big step in the right direction!

But that spits in the face of what Indy is all about. Indy is one of the last franchises that needs an online viral campaign or something. Indy needs a great script turned into a great adventure movie advertised by several different great trailers and various other advertising techniques. I can't say their advertising was perfect for Crystal Skull, but most people probably knew it was coming out leading up to it...I saw constant commercials, coverage on entertainment media, posters at the movie theater, etc. I don't think they did much wrong, really.

James said:
I think the low-key marketing owed more to the fact that Indy 4 was such a long awaited project. Audiences didn't really need to be sold on the idea of going to see another Indiana Jones film, and everyone involved knew it.

But while I don't expect Indy to ever be "the" must-see film of the summer again, it's also in a category that most franchises would love to inhabit: The "Of Course I'll See" film.

Much like Star Wars, audiences will probably continue to go see Indy films as long as they are being made. Many fans were absolutely gutted by The Phantom Menace, but it didn't stop them from going to see Attack of the Clones or Revenge of the Sith. None of those were really "the" must-see film either- even TPM was upstaged by The Matrix- but it didn't exactly hurt them at the box office.

Excellent points!
 

deckard24

New member
DIrishB said:
But that spits in the face of what Indy is all about. Indy is one of the last franchises that needs an online viral campaign or something. Indy needs a great script turned into a great adventure movie advertised by several different great trailers and various other advertising techniques. I can't say their advertising was perfect for Crystal Skull, but most people probably knew it was coming out leading up to it...I saw constant commercials, coverage on entertainment media, posters at the movie theater, etc. I don't think they did much wrong, really.
I agree a viral campaign may not suit Indy, but better marketing like I said is paramount to big box office numbers! Once the ball got rolling on the marketing it was pretty decent, but the long wait for just the teaser trailer alone was baffling! If Indy V gets a little darker in tone, ups the action, adds a more hardcore villain or villains, and really looks to deliver on all the elements that made the original series and parts of KOTCS successful, the beards might have an even bigger hit on their hands then KOTCS!

The one way I thought they could possibly utilize a viral campaign for Indy V would be to have in the months prior to its release, little teases of the McGuffin and its power! They could do this through teaser trailers, using audio clips that describe its supernatural qualities, sort of like when Marcus talked about the power of the Ark and Grail to Indy. These clips could play, as flashes of the McGuffin appear on screen with an eerie music accompaniment by Williams(just think of The Call of the Crystal)! Along with these trailers, could be posters appearing in magazines and theaters months before its release to build up some mystery and intrigue. Of course for all this to be successful you'd need one hell of a McGuffin, and an ominous one like the Ark.
 

DIrishB

New member
Before Crystal Skull's release, I saw Indy everywhere. On TV, online, on store shelves (toys, DVDs, etc), on soda, on cereal, on just about everything. It wasn't on the same level as the Star Wars prequels, but there was plenty of Indy in the months leading up to Crystal Skull's release. Again, I don't think they did much wrong.

I do like deckard24's ideas.
 

IndyForever

Active member
Indy 4 was the highest grossing movie outside US in 2008 even though it did not even open in China (due to Spielberg's olympic boycott) so that would have added another $40-50m or so. KOTCS made $469.5M vs Dark Knight's $468.5M only $1M more but still proves how massive the Indiana Jones franchise is.

Indy 5 will do at least $350-400M US & around $550-650M outside US as its Indy's last movie which always adds a lot to box office plus you have emerging markets like Russia, China, India where box office is growing. Most Indy movies have made at least 60% or more from outside US so expect at least the same or more.

$1B is almost a lock at this stage its all down to how good the movie is if its closer in tone to Indy 3 expect it to soar over $1B ;)
 
IndyForever said:
Indy 4 was the highest grossing movie outside US in 2008 even though it did not even open in China (due to Spielberg's olympic boycott) so that would have added another $40-50m or so. KOTCS made $469.5M vs Dark Knight's $468.5M only $1M more but still proves how massive the Indiana Jones franchise is.

Indy 5 will do at least $350-400M US & around $550-650M outside US as its Indy's last movie which always adds a lot to box office plus you have emerging markets like Russia, China, India where box office is growing. Most Indy movies have made at least 60% or more from outside US so expect at least the same or more.

$1B is almost a lock at this stage its all down to how good the movie is if its closer in tone to Indy 3 expect it to soar over $1B ;)

Yeah, well, your username is a little biased mate.

I couldnt give a monkeys how much money it would make. If they do it, they'll do it for the money for sure, but to do it well, thats the only thing that matters to me.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
replican't said:
I couldnt give a monkeys how much money it would make. If they do it, they'll do it for the money for sure, but to do it well, thats the only thing that matters to me.

(y)

Lucas isn't capable of doing it well. And Spielberg is too sycophantic to help.
 
replican't said:
Yeah, well, your username is a little biased mate.
Now THAT's FUNNY...

400544_325646074136046_100000719686218_1039535_8249265_n.jpg


...coming from someone with the name replican't!

replican't said:
to do it well, thats the only thing that matters to me.
I'm with you on this...starting with a script.

Montana Smith said:
...Spielberg is too sycophantic to help.
Seems he put up close to a twenty year fight.

But LucasFilm really should be renamed Sycophant Films.



It'll make money, without a doubt.

It will depend on good word of mouth to make the big bucks though.

I would love to see a script from Christopher Nolan. I'm a betting man and I think he could do Indiana Jones real justice. Bring the project a positive buzz.

Indiana Jones needs to be reclaimed from Tim Burtonville.
 
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Montana Smith

Active member
Rocket Surgeon said:
I would love to see a script from Christopher Nolan. I'm a betting man and I think he could do Indiana Jones real justice. Bring the project a positive buzz.

He'd be the man to rescue Indy's balls from the fire. Just imagine Nolan taking Indy back to his roots. :gun: :whip:
 

Raiders90

Well-known member
Montana Smith said:
He'd be the man to rescue Indy's balls from the fire. Just imagine Nolan taking Indy back to his roots. :gun: :whip:

Nolan would make Indy into a clinically depressed, tortured soul and the movie would be a pretentious, ultra realistic, urban gritty piece of trash. It'd have grit but no sense of fun. I know it's 2012 and all, but you can still have fun at the cinema without it being KOTCS.

Del Toro would do a good job, I think.
 

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
Raiders112390 said:
Nolan would make Indy into a clinically depressed, tortured soul and the movie would be a pretentious, ultra realistic, urban gritty piece of trash. It'd have grit but no sense of fun. I know it's 2012 and all, but you can still have fun at the cinema without it being KOTCS.

Del Toro would do a good job, I think.

I can't speak to Del Toro, but I'm certainly inclined to agree with you regarding Nolan. I generally appreciate his Batman movies, but has there ever been a heist movie less fun than Inception?
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Raiders112390 said:
Nolan would make Indy into a clinically depressed, tortured soul and the movie would be a pretentious, ultra realistic, urban gritty piece of trash. It'd have grit but no sense of fun. I know it's 2012 and all, but you can still have fun at the cinema without it being KOTCS.

Maybe, but Nolan would be the antidote to present-day Lucas.

Dark and gritty is fun, compared to the lame humour of KOTCS. BB and TDK were deliberately melodramatic, because that's the style of the comics that the characters were drawn from. But think of the stunts and the sequences from those movies, and how Indy could have been placed within that world.

The script and sentiments displayed in ROTLA were more of the Nolan kind. All that discussion of shadowy reflections could well be a discussion of white knights, dark knights and vigilante tomb robbers.

Raiders112390 said:
Del Toro would do a good job, I think.

He'd be good, too. He knew what to do with Hellboy.

Though he can also be very grim as well - as in Pan's Labyrinth.
 

Raiders90

Well-known member
Montana Smith said:
Maybe, but Nolan would be the antidote to present-day Lucas.

Dark and gritty is fun, compared to the lame humour of KOTCS. BB and TDK were deliberately melodramatic, because that's the style of the comics that the characters were drawn from. But think of the stunts and the sequences from those movies, and how Indy could have been placed within that world.

The script and sentiments displayed in ROTLA were more of the Nolan kind. All that discussion of shadowy reflections could well be a discussion of white knights, dark knights and vigilante tomb robbers.



He'd be good, too. He knew what to do with Hellboy.

Though he can also be very grim as well - as in Pan's Labyrinth.

No, it's just going to the extreme opposite direction. Just because Lucas went superlight and over the top in KOTCS, doesn't mean a next Indy has to be ultra-dark, totally realistic and pretentious. As to the melodrama of BB and TDK, that's I'd say more Nolan's style. Melodrama of that sort doesn't fit in Indy's world just as much as nuclear fridges don't.

I don't see dark and gritty as fun. Gritty can be fun. Dark can be fun. But both combined just leads to a grim picture. Not something fun. ROTLA has serious moments, yes, but let's not act like it was anything like TDK in tone. It was a fun adventure with some depth. TDK feels like overwrought fan fiction; ponderous, pretentious garbage.

The team which made Mask of Zorro (the screenwriters were also responsible for Pirates of the Carribean) might do a good job with Indy, particularly if we're dealing with Harrison Ford still as an older Indy. Note that in that film, Hopkins' Zorro is a teacher, yes, but he is also very much in the action himself.
 
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