To understand the reaction to Dial of Destiny , one must acknowledge the baggage it carried. The previous installment, 2008’s Kingdom of the Crystal Skull , faced a polarizing reception. Fans were skeptical of the alien (interdimensional beings) plotline and the heavy use of CGI. This meant that director James Mangold had a dual challenge: he had to wash the bad taste out of the mouths of disappointed fans while simultaneously delivering a story that justified bringing an 80-year-old Ford back to the role.

Budgeted at a staggering $295 million (plus $100 million for marketing), Dial of Destiny needed to gross nearly $800 million to break even. It finished its theatrical run with $384 million worldwide. By any standard, it was a box office bomb.

Why?

What follows is a globe-trotting chase from the subway tunnels of New York to the underwater ruins of Aegean Greece, through the alleys of Tangier, and finally to the siege of Syracuse in 212 BC.