The Indiana Jones film series has made a big impact on popular culture. Almost everyone has heard of the archeologist and his dangerous adventures, even if they haven’t actually seen the movies. As well as being paid homage to and parodied a number of times in various forms of media, the series has also inspired other similar fictional treasure-hunting-themed franchises, such as Laura Croft, The Mummy, and, more recently, Uncharted.

Over 42 years, five Indiana Jones films have been released, with the latest being 2023's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Within the fictional world, however, the story takes place over a 34-year period, with the in-universe chronology and release dates not quite matching one-to-one. While on the surface, it would seem the Indiana Jones movies are a bit easy to follow, unlike Star Wars, they have no numerical numbering to give them an immediate recognizable placement in a timeline other than when you start the movie, and it shows the date.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny marked the final film in the franchise, as Harrison Ford has retired from the part. All the titles are available on Disney+, so anyone looking for a binge-worthy weekend can lay back and watch the epic five-film saga. Here's a look at the Indiana Jones films in both chronological order and by release date.

Update January 5, 2024: This article has been updated following the release of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and the entire series is now available to stream on Disney+.

The Indiana Jones Movies in Chronological Order

• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
• Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
• Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom may have been the second film to be released, but it technically takes place in 1935, before the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Indiana Jones survives an assassination attempt and flees Shanghai with a young orphan named Short (Ke Huy Quan), along with a nightclub singer named Willie (Kate Capshaw). When they find themselves aboard a plane piloted by the bad guy's henchmen, a plane that is crashing towards the ground, Indy and his companions barely manage to make it out alive. Eventually, they wind up in the village of Mayapore in northern India.

However, it's not long before the trio runs into more problems. A sacred stone belonging to the people of the village was stolen, along with their children, and they implored Indy to help them. He agrees and travels to the palace they believe the stolen children are beng housed in, only to be welcomed with open arms. That is, until another assassin tries to kill Indy in his sleep. Managing to survive the night, Indy discovers that there are hidden tunnels under the palace, and begins to explore them. There he discovers a hellish place filled with cultists conducting a human sacrifice. Indy must save himself, his companions, and the children before a trance-like state forces him to offer himself for sacrifice.

Related: Best (And Worst) Indiana Jones Moments, Ranked

Often considered inferior to its predecessor, The Temple of Doom is darker and grimier than the rest of the films in the series and could easily be mistaken for a horror film. Nevertheless, the set pieces and production design are nothing short of spectacular, and Ford is in as fine a form as ever. The movie was so dark it, along with the Gremlins which was released the same year, that the MPAA created the PG-13 rating. This would be the final PG-rated Indiana Jones adventure, as all the following ones would be PG-13. Stream on Disney+ and Paramount+.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Raiders of the Lost Ark starts with Indiana Jones retrieving a gold idol from a trapped temple in 1936, which comprises one of the best action sequences of all time. He runs right from one life-threatening situation into another, as a rival archaeologist, Belloq (Paul Freeman), is waiting for him and steals the idol. Upon his return to the US, two army intelligence agents confront Indy, and in a debrief, he discovers that the Nazis are searching for the Ark of the Covenant. The agents recruit him to find the Ark before the Nazis do.

The first stop on his journey leads him to Nepal, where he meets an old flame, Marion (Karen Allen). She has a medallion that, once translated, will detail how to find the ark. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't take long for the Nazis to show up and attempt to steal it from her. As she flees with Indy, the Nazis continue to chase them. Upon learning from his friend, Sallah (John Rhys-Davies), that Belloq is assisting the Nazis with a dig in Cairo, Indy realizes that his enemies have been digging in the wrong place. With Sallah's assistance, Indy recovers the Ark, but Belloq quickly seizes it. However, when Belloq and the Nazis open the Ark, they soon discover its true deadly power.

The only film in the series not to start with "Indiana Jones and the...", Raiders of the Lost Ark, is considered by many to be one of the greatest movies of all time. Not only did it solidify Harrison Ford as a movie star and more than just Han Solo, it made George Lucas and Steven Spielberg even bigger power players in the industry than ever before. The movie set the template not just for the franchise but also for various other action movies. Stream on Disney+ and Paramount+.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

The opening scenes of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, take place in 1912 (before the film continues into 1938 for the rest), when an old foe is given a backstory. A young Indiana Jones initially tries to recover a golden cross being stolen by a couple of grave robbers. He eventually catches up to them and manages to successfully put the cross in a museum. Upon returning home, Indy discovers that his dad, Henry Jones Sr. (played by the legendary Sean Connery) has disappeared while searching for the Holy Grail.

With his dad’s grail diary in hand and the assistance of Jones Sr.'s former colleague, Elsa (Alison Doody), Indy sets out on the journey to rescue his father. Together, Indy and Elsa, begin to piece the puzzle of Henry's whereabouts. However, they eventually come across two problems. The first is a secret society known as the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword, who are tasked with keeping the grail safe. The second is the Nazis, who are also desperate to get their hands on the prized artifact, meaning there are now two enemies for Indy to contend with.

Related: Every Indiana Jones Movie, Ranked

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade marked a return to the lighthearted tone of the first film, with the chemistry between Ford and Connery (who was only 12 years older than Ford) providing some excellent comedy. Connery's casting is a meta casting joke, as Indiana Jones was inspired by Spielberg always wanting to make a James Bond movie but being rejected and Lucas famously saying he had something better, Indiana Jones (well, Indiana Smith at the time, but the name thankfully was changed). In Spielberg's mind, it only made sense to cast James Bond as the father of Indiana Jones.

Audiences responded better to the movie than Temple of Doom, and the third film in the series is largely considered one of the best. It would also be the last film in the franchise for 19 years. Fans kept asking Spielberg about making a fourth film, and despite his intending Last Crusade to be the final film, he could not resist and returned for another adventure. Stream on Disney+ and Paramount+.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Released nearly two decades after the last Indiana Jones movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull fittingly takes place in 1957, almost 20 years from when The Last Crusade is set. Of course, instead of being another World War 2-era movie where Nazis are the enemies, this time, it is the KGB who are causing Indy all kinds of problems and dropping the famous hero in the middle of the Cold War. After being kidnapped by Soviet agents and taken to a secret bunker in Nevada, Indy is forced to help them find a mummified alien. His attempts to stop them are unsuccessful, though, and he barely manage to make it out alive. Later, he is approached by a man named Mutt Williams (Shia LeBeouf), who claims the KGB has kidnapped more people in search of the crystal skulls.

Indy and Mutt team up and travel to Peru, narrowly dodging KGB agents along the way. They discover that the KGB want to find more crystal skulls, believing that the skull belongs to an alien life form that will grant them psychic powers if they collect enough. With powers like that, the Soviets could telepathically control the world. Indy must stop the KGB with the help of both old and new colleagues alike.

While it is widely considered the weakest film in the franchise, at the time, audiences and critics responded positively to the film as it grossed nearly $800 million at the box office and, in doing so, became the second highest-grossing release of the year worldwide behind only The Dark Knight. The movie was highly anticipated at the time of its release, as it was the return of the great action hero that fans had been waiting years to see again. The plot was incredibly secretive, and while the reaction to the film has soured as the years went on, there is still a lot to like in this film. Even if it is the weakest, it goes to show that the weakest Indiana Jones film is still better than a lot of other franchises. Stream on Disney+ and Paramount+

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

The latest installment in the series, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, sees the action taking place in 1969, and revolves around an elderly Indy embarking on one last adventure to retrieve a powerful artifact before it falls into the wrong hands. A flashback to 1944 at the start of the film depicts Indy rescuing his friend and colleague Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) from his capture at the hands of the Nazis, and shows him learning of Archimedes' Dial, an ancient Syracusan mechanism supposedly capable of time travel. That means the opening sequence takes place between the events of The Last Crusade and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Twenty-five years later, Basil's daughter Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) pays Indy a visit, wishing to learn more about the Dial, which her now-deceased father dedicated his life to studying. Indy warns Helena against this, but reluctantly helps her to retrieve one half of the Dial from the college archives. In the process, they are attacked by Nazi astrophysicist Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), who now works for NASA and is desperate to get his hands on both halves of the Dial. Helena, who had been lying about her intentions, steals the Dial to sell on the black market. With the help of Sallah, Indy tracks down Helena to Tangier, and the pair decide to team up in order to stop Voller, whose plan, it is revealed, is to travel back in time to kill Hitler and take the position as the leader of the Nazis.

Related: Why Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Deserves Better Than Its Rotten Tomatoes Score

Despite being the first film in the series not to be helmed by Spielberg, there were high hopes for The Dial of Destiny, which was directed by James Mangold. It is fascinating that the time gap between Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Dial of Destiny was 15 years, just four years shy of the 19-year gap between Last Crusade and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Unfortunately, like its immediate predecessor, the film garnered a mixed response from both critics and fans. Unlike Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, however, the fifth entry in the franchise was not a financial success, only managing to make a disappointing $385 million on a $300 million budget and becoming the series' first box office bomb.

It could not exactly cash in on the "Indy is back" hype because Kingdom of the Crystal Skull had used that already. The other part was that the time gap between the release of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Dial of Destiny is so great that a good portion of the fanbase that started with the original film might sadly no longer be with us. For comparison, the time between Raiders of the Lost Ark and Dial of Destiny is the same as between The Wizard of Oz and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Time is a funny thing, so it is appropriate the final Indiana Jones film is a thoughtful meditation on time as a concept. The series ends not with a big action scene or riding off into the sunset but instead with a hat hanging on a close line and a hand taking it, the idea being there will always be an adventure out there. Stream on Disney+

The Indiana Jones Movies by Release Date

Indiana Jones was always a summer franchise. Both the first and the final film in the series opened in June, a nice bookend for the franchise. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Last Crusade, and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull all opened on Memorial Day weekend. While the movies are the perfect summer viewing, they can really be enjoyed anytime of the year.