Raiders of the Lost Ark, directed by Spielberg from story and concept by George Lucas, offered actor Harrison Ford with his own franchise that spanned two additional films during the course of the 1980s.

The trio successfully revived the action-adventure series with 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, which dug up nearly $800 million at the worldwide box office.

ndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny — the fifth and final installment in the series — opened to underwhelming $60.4 million at the domestic box office over the June 30-July 2 weekend.

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Ranking each of the five Indy movies according to their opening weekends at the domestic box office when adjusted for inflation, from highest to lowest.

1. The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Indy fans welcome their swashbuckling hero back to the big screen after a 19-year hiatus. The Crystal Skull opened huge $152 million in America over the long Memorial Day holiday weekend, including $100.1 million for the weekend proper.

That equals $146.9 million when adjusted for inflation, according to Paul Dergarabedian of Comscore. Crystal Skull received mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike, but was a box office win on its way to $790 million at the worldwide box office for Lucasfilm and Paramount, unadjusted. It was the No. 2 film of the year domestically behind The Dark Knight after beating out Bond film Quantum of Solace, Mamma Mia! and Iron Man.

Thus, Disney’s decision to keep the franchise alive after buying Lucasfilm in 2012 and pursue a fifth installment made sense (on paper)

Domestic opening adjusted: $146.9 million

2. The Temple of Doom (1984)

Temple of Doom debuted to $33.9 million domestically, or $106.4 million when adjusted for inflation. Temple of Doom went on to earn $331 million globally, including $179.9 million in North America (unadjusted).

But it got beat out by Beverly Hills Cop and Ghostbusters. The lasting legacy of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in terms of box office is arguably the PG-13 rating. Spielberg advocated to create the new ratings category between “G” and “R” after parents complained about the movie’s scenes being too dark (they made similar complaints about the Spielberg-executive produced Gremlins, which opened the same time). Spielberg was heard by the MPA, with PG-13 quickly becoming the rating for Hollywood studios looking to appeal to widest group of people, whether families or adults looking for action.

Domestic opening adjusted: $106.4 million

3. The Last Crusade (1989)

The Last Crusade broke Memorial Day records in America with four-day earnings of $37 million. That included $29.4 million for the 3 days, or $77.5 million when adjusted. The threequel was the highest-grossing film of 1989 at the global box office with an unadjusted total of $474.2 million, beating Batman. But in North America, Batman prevailed.

Domestic opening adjusted for inflation: $77.5 million

The news was revealed in February 2020, before the COVID-19 lockdown. In the intervening years, Indy fans have aged. Those who were 12 when the first movie came out are now 54; those who were 24 are 66 now (you get the idea). Yet in the post-pandemic era, older adults have become became all the more discerning in terms of what they’ll watch in theaters. On opening weekend, the largest segment of Dial of Destiny’s audience, or 23 percent, was 55 and older. Normally this demo might only make up 5 percent. Lucasfilm and Disney are hopeful that Dial of Destiny will have legs, particularly among families.

It could prove a tough assignment, as Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning, Part One opens July 12, followed a week later by Barbie and Oppenheimer (all three appeal to older adults). If not, the fifth and final Indiana Jones movie could quickly become a box office artifact.

Domestic opening: $60.4 million

5. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

The movie opened to $8.3 million from 1,068 theaters over the June 12-14 weekend (in those days, movies still rolled out relatively slowly). When adjusting for inflation, Raiders of the Lost Ark started off with $31.5 million domestically.

The film was an overnight sensation, amassing more than $212 million in its original run at American box office, and $248.2 million including rereleases. When adjusted for inflation, this translates to 940 million. Globally, Raiders of the Lost Ark was the biggest film of 1981 with $354 million in worldwide ticket sales, beating Superman II.

Raiders of the Lost Ark, had legs, falling to No. 2 in its sophomore outing when the Superman sequel opened. The pic only dropped 8 percent before climbing back up the chart to No. 1 in its sixth weekend. Raiders then spent 42 weeks in the top 10.

Domestic opening adjusted for inflation: $31.5 million