'Fantastic Beasts' Gets Lukewarm Reception in Theaters
by EG
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore had an unimpressive showing in its debut weekend in theaters, making it apparent that the Harry Potter film franchise is not the juggernaut it once was. The movie was still able to take the weekend's top spot at the box office, though, as last week's champ, Sonic 2, gave up more than half of its gross from its opening weekend. Read on for details.
Warner Bros.’ Wizarding World is in trouble on the movie side.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore opened to a tepid $43 million at the domestic box office over Easter weekend after earning $20.1 million Friday, including $6 million in Thursday previews. It is faring better overseas, where it earned another $71 million for a global tally of $193 million (it opened last weekend in select markets).
The $200 million movie — which marks the third installment in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter spinoff franchise — is landing well behind its predecessors. As franchises become ever more important to Hollywood studios, it remains to be seen whether this particular series can keep going.
Directed by David Yates, Secrets of Dumbledore stars Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Mads Mikkelsen, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, William Nadylam, Callum Turner, Jessica Williams and Victoria Yeates.
In 2016, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them debuted to $74.4 million domestically after earning an A CinemaScore. The second installment, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, came in below that, with $62.2 million, or 16 percent. Dumbledore came in 30 percent behind Grindelwald.
Both Grindelwald and Dumbledore earned a B+ CinemaScore.
The Fantastic Beasts series has never caught on in the way Harry Potter did. Complicating matters, there have been plenty of behind-the-scenes drama and production delays due to COVID-19.
Miller, who plays Credence Barebone in all three films, made headlines after appearing to choke a fan outside a club and, most recently, allegedly harassed people at a bar in Hawaii and broke into a couple’s hotel room. Then there is the series progenitor, Rowling, who has spent the past two years expressing her anti-trans views.
And Johnny Depp, who played the Fantastic Beasts villain Gellert Grindelwald in the second installment, left Secrets of Dumbledore when he became embroiled in domestic abuse allegations made by his ex-wife, Amber Heard. (Depp was replaced by Mikkelsen.)
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.