The traditionally lucrative Memorial Day weekend should be quite good to Steven Spielberg and George Lucas as their Indiana Jones franchise returns to the big screen with the first new adventure in 19 years. Featuring a good deal of CG effects work by Industrial Light & Magic, Paramount’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull began rolling out today at 12 a.m. and is poised to dig up a ton of treasure over the next five days.
In Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, archeologist/adventurer Indiana Jones is lured back into action when learns of a Soviet plot to solve the mystery behind the Crystal Skulls, real-life artifacts that have been baffling scientists and historians for many years. Harrison Ford returns in the titular role and Karen Allen reprises the role of Marion Ravenwood from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Filling out the main cast are Shia Labeouf, Cate Blanchette, Ray Winstone, John Hurt and Jim Broadbent.
Less-than-enthusiastic word-of-mouth from preview screenings of Kingdom has been largely offset by supportive critical response. The fourth installment of the iconic adventure series has a lot to live up to, and most reviewers report that it holds its own despite its flaws. The use and perhaps overuse of computer-generated effects seems to be a sticking point for a number of critics who pine for the days of good, old-fashioned stunts and practical set pieces that graced the earlier chapters.
The pic’s opening spells bad news for Disney/Walden Media’s The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, which has earned approximately $63 million since opening at No. 1 last weekend. The return of Dr. Jones should also put some rust on Iron Man’s gears. The fellow Paramount summer blockbuster enjoyed a hearty $31 million second weekend after breaking $100 million domestically in its debut. With an estimated $436 million in worldwide receipts earned over just two weeks, the superhero flick set the bar high as the film to beat this summer. Indiana Jones and Batman Begins sequel The Dark Knight are shaping up to be the most worthy challengers.
