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Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Original Trailer [FHD]

Raiders of the Lost Ark(1981)
Released
1981 · FILM

Raiders of the Lost Ark

When Nazi forces hunt for the Ark of the Covenant, legendary archaeologist Indiana Jones must outwit his rivals, confront his past, and stop the Third Reich from unleashing ancient power.

“The return of the great adventure.”

Directed by
Steven Spielberg, Roy Button
Written by
Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas
Rated
MPA · PG
Runtime
115 min
Adventure

Synopsis

As *Raiders of the Lost Ark* celebrates its 45th anniversary, Matt Goldberg reflects on how the film created a new cinematic icon. Directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by George Lucas, the movie introduced Indiana Jones, a character who would become a cultural phenomenon. The film’s success was not guaranteed at the time, as Hollywood was hesitant about the creative control and financial terms demanded by Lucas. Harrison Ford, who would later become synonymous with the role, was not the original choice for the part. The collaboration between Lucas, Spielberg, and Ford ultimately resulted in a film that redefined the action-adventure genre and launched a long-running franchise.

Credits

Actors
Editor
Production Designer
Director of Photography
Writers
Directors

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How many hands made this film

The scale of the collaboration

A crew of 495+ credited

Why a floor?

This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.

Craft leads on file

Edited by Michael KahnShot by Douglas SlocombeScored by John WilliamsDesigned by Norman ReynoldsSound by Richard L AndersonCostumes by Deborah NadoolmanStunts by Glenn Randall JrVFX by Richard Edlund

Box Office

1981 · Box office

💰 Box-office hit — grossed 22× its budget

Why 2.5×?

Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).

Worldwide gross

$389.9M

Budget$18.0M
Worldwide gross$389.9M
break-even (2.5×)

US & Canada: $212.2M — 54% of worldwide · International: $177.7M (46%)

Opening weekend: $8.3M — 4% of its US run. It had legs — it kept earning long after opening weekend.

Peak 1,078 theaters

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Re-release box office

1983628 theaters
$7.0M($23.2M today)
19821,330 theaters
$27.1M($93.0M today)
Total re-release
$34.1M

Domestic gross earned in theatrical re-release, by year · adjusted for inflation

Full synopsis

Also known as

  • Indiana Jones - Jäger des verlorenen Schatzesde
  • Indiana Jones und der Jäger des verlorenen Schatzesde
  • Jäger des verlorenen Schatzesde
  • Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Arken
  • Indiana Jones y los cazadores del arca perdidaes
  • Les aventuriers de l'arche perduefr
  • (Alternative Title)Indiana Jones e os Caçadores da Arca Perdida
  • (Alternative Title)Indiana Jones y los cazadores del arca perdida
  • I predatori dell'arca perdutait
  • Indiana Jones e i predatori dell'arca perdutait
Release dates around the world5 countries · show
  • CanadaJun 12, 1981
  • United StatesJun 12, 1981
  • RussiaJun 15, 1981
  • SerbiaJun 24, 1981
  • United KingdomJul 30, 1981

Production & Distribution

Production companies
Paramount PicturesLucasfilm
Distributors
Paramount DistributionParamount PicturesCinema International Corporation (CIC)
Special effectsIndustrial Light & Magic (ILM)
Other companiesBruce Hill Productions, MGM Optical, Modern Film Effects, MGM Title Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

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