Indiana Jones might not be the box-office raider he used to be.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull debuted to a solid but unspectacular start Thursday, dashing inflated expectations and leaving critics and fans to tangle over whether Steven Spielberg's sequel was worth the 19-year wait.

According to numbers reported yesterday, the fourth entry in the iconic George Lucas-produced franchise earned $25 million in its opening day in North America (including $4.5 million collected during late-night previews Wednesday).

Those figures hardly constitute a bomb, but they fall well short of the best Thursdays in box-office history: The $50 million raked in by 2005's Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, the $37 million mustered by The Matrix Reloaded in 2003 and the $30 million snapped up by Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones in 2002.

This also means it's doubtful Kingdom of the Crystal Skull can top the $170-million mark in its first five days -- or shatter the U.S. Memorial Day weekend record set by Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End last summer ($140 million).

Nor will it approach the $151 million in three days total Spider-Man 3 webbed up.

Yes, after squaring off with Nazis and Soviets, it now appears Dr. Jones has met his match in a CG superhero and mascara-smeared buccaneer. And it calls into question the wisdom of resurrecting long-dormant cinematic heroes younger movie-goers didn't grow up on.

For Indy's creators, then, the softer-than-predicted opening makes word of mouth all the more critical if the movie is to cross the $300-million mark in North America -- frankly, anything less would be a disappointment.

But even among fanboys -- the franchise's core audience -- reaction has been mixed.

Among critics, the reception to the new Indiana Jones has been strong, if not quite orgasmic.

On the communal Rotten Tomatoes website, Crystal Skull ranks favourably with 79% of reviewers sampled there (Sun Media's own review included). By comparison, Iron Man is 93% "fresh" -- or positive -- while Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian ranks a mediocre 66% "fresh" and Speed Racer a disastrous 35%.

Still, don't count this Indy out of this fight yet.

"It has the market pretty much to itself," notes Brandon Gray, publisher and president of the box office tracking site Box Office Mojo.

Moreover, in the wake of the lacklustre receipts netted by Prince Caspian, Indiana Jones may very well be able to claim the title of family movie of the summer. Turns out, while teens might view him as a fossil -- explaining the calculated inclusion of Shia LaBeouf -- Indiana Jones now has cross-generational appeal.

The fans who flocked to the early films as kids and teens, after all, are now parents. And, despite an encounter with man-eating ants, the violence in Crystal Skull is decidedly tamer and therefore more kid-friendly than its gory predecessors.

Still, the uncertainly of the film's final tally is a cliffhanger no one in Hollywood wanted.

BIGGEST OPENING WEEKENDS

All numbers are for the Friday-to-Sunday period

1. Spider-Man 3 (2007) $151.0M

2. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) $135.0M

3. Shrek the Third (2007) $121.0M

4. Spider-Man (2002) $114.8M

5. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) $114.7M

6. Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) $108.4M

7. Shrek 2 (2004) $108.0M

8. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) $102.7M

9. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) $102.6M

10. Iron Man (2008) $98.0M