Indiana Jones Movies Ranked: Best to Worst

The ranking below is my opinion, built on four questions: how well the film opens, how practical and readable its set pieces feel, how strong the villain and the supporting cast are, and how well it sits beside the other four. I did not use critic scores or audience scores, and box office is a side note rather than a judge. If you want the money side, the Indiana Jones box office page has the grosses, and Indiana Jones reviews will hold our full verdicts as they are written.

Why no scores? A number from somewhere else tells you how a crowd felt, while the chase, the fight and the booby trap are a question of how the job gets done on screen. Think of it like ranking cars by how they drive, not by how many were sold. All five films are directed by Steven Spielberg except the last, which was directed by James Mangold, and Harrison Ford plays Indiana Jones in every one. One ordering note: Temple of Doom is set in 1935, a year before Raiders, so the Indiana Jones timeline puts it first in story order, while the Indiana Jones movies in order guide covers both ways of watching. For the full list of films, start at the Indiana Jones movies hub.

Raiders of the Lost Ark, directed by Steven Spielberg, is the best Indiana Jones movie because it does the most with the least. It runs 115 minutes on an $18 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo, and it grossed about $390 million worldwide. The setup is simple: in 1936, Indy loses a golden idol to his rival René Belloq, then learns the Nazis are digging in Egypt for the Ark of the Covenant. Every sequence has a clear job, and the film hands you the next goal before you have finished enjoying the last one.

The craft is in the details. According to Lucasfilm, the snake sound was made with a cheese casserole, and the U-boat base was a miniature from 1941 paired with a matte painting. Those are the choices of people solving problems with their hands. The cast helps too: Karen Allen gives Marion Ravenwood a temper that matches Indy's, Paul Freeman makes Belloq a polite menace, and John Rhys-Davies makes Sallah the friend you wish you had. John Williams's Raiders March remains the series theme. It could be argued that the film is so well built that every sequel gets measured against it, which is unfair to them and yet unavoidable.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, also directed by Spielberg, is second because it adds a relationship to the machinery. It opens in 1912 with a young Indy, played by River Phoenix, taking a cross from treasure hunters and earning his fedora, then jumps to 1938 and a search for his missing father, Henry Jones. Sean Connery plays Professor Henry Jones, and the pairing with Ford is the heart of the film. Denholm Elliott returns as Marcus Brody, Alison Doody plays Elsa, and Julian Glover plays the backer, Walter Donovan.

The film ran 127 minutes on a $48 million budget and earned $474 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. Why is it not first? In my opinion, it is a touch more comfortable. Raiders feels like a gamble that paid off, while Last Crusade feels like a team that knows exactly what the audience loves and delivers it with great charm. That is a fine thing to be, and it is why this is the film I would hand to a newcomer who wants the series at its friendliest. You can meet the father in the henry jones sr profile and Marcus Brody in the marcus brody indiana jones entry.

Temple of Doom, directed by Spielberg, takes third place because it is the boldest film and also the most uneven. Set in 1935, it opens in a Shanghai nightclub where Indy's deal with the crime boss Lao Che goes sideways, and the escape that follows, by plane, raft and river, is a masterclass in momentum. Kate Capshaw plays Willie Scott, Ke Huy Quan plays Short Round, and Amrish Puri plays Mola Ram. According to Lucasfilm, the film was first called Temple of Death, and it was shot partly at Elstree, with John Williams recording with the London Symphony Orchestra.

The film ran 118 minutes on a $28 million budget and grossed about $333 million worldwide, the lowest of the original run in dollars. I place it above the two later films because its best scenes are among the best in the franchise, even if the middle stretch is darker and shaggier. Read more about the leads in willie scott indiana jones and short round indiana jones.

Dial of Destiny is fourth, and it is the film I most wanted to place higher. Directed by James Mangold rather than Spielberg, it stars Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Helena, Mads Mikkelsen as Dr. Voller and Toby Jones as Basil Shaw, while Karen Allen and John Rhys-Davies return. Meet Helena in helena shaw.

The numbers are blunt. It ran 155 minutes, the longest in the series, cost $300 million and grossed about $384 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. In my opinion, the film earns real credit for letting Ford play an older Indy rather than pretending otherwise, and the cast is strong. It ranks below Temple of Doom because it takes too long to settle into its own rhythm, and the best set pieces are spaced further apart than in the earlier films. John Williams scored it, as he did all five films, and you can explore his work on the Indiana Jones soundtrack page.

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, directed by Spielberg, is last in my ranking, with reasons rather than scorn. It is set in 1957, with Soviet agents led by Cate Blanchett's Colonel Irina Spalko kidnapping Indy and his partner Mac in the Nevada desert and forcing him to help them find a mummified alien body. Karen Allen returns as Marion, and Shia LaBeouf plays Mutt Williams, a young greaser who asks for Indy's help. John Hurt, Ray Winstone and Jim Broadbent fill out the cast. Sean Connery did not return, according to UPI's report on the production.

The film ran 122 minutes on a $185 million budget and grossed about $787 million worldwide, the biggest total in the series, according to Box Office Mojo. So, why last? In my opinion, the tone moves from pulp serial to 1950s science fiction, and the set pieces lean on computer effects more than the first three films did. It could be argued that the idea was fair, since the series always flirted with the supernatural, but the execution did not hold together for me. If you want to explore the villains across the series, the Indiana Jones villains page covers them, and the mutt williams indiana jones profile covers the sidekick.

If you are choosing where to start, begin with Raiders, then follow with the film that suits your taste: Last Crusade for warmth, Temple of Doom for energy. The latest on indiana jones 6 is on the next movie page, and the Indiana Jones characters guide helps you meet the cast before you watch.