On This Day

Raiders of the Lost Ark released

June 12th 1981

15:35 12 June 2024

'Raiders of the Lost Ark' opened in theaters across North America on this day in 1981. Harrison Ford made his debut as globe-trotting archaeologist Indiana Jones, battling against Nazi German forces in 1936 to recover the long-lost Ark of the Covenant.

The idea to update the serial films of the early 20th century had been conceived by George Lucas in the early 1970s and following the success of 'Jaws' (1975) and 'Star Wars' (1977), Lucas teamed up with Steven Spielberg to bring his story to the big screen.

Initial hopes for Spielberg's film had not been high with 'Superman II' (1980) expected to be the big draw for audiences but 'Raiders' surpassed expectations and was a huge hit both critically and commercially, earning nearly $390 million at the box-office worldwide which made it the highest-grossing film of 1981. Three sequels followed, with the most recent: 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' released last year.