‘Fantastic Beasts 3’ Doesn’t Enchant Box Office With Franchise-Low $40 Million Opening

Naman Ramachandran The total U.K. and Ireland box office in April this year was £96.9 million ($119.2 million), according to numbers for the month released by Comscore.At this time in 2021, indoor cinemas remained closed due to the second nationwide lockdown, except for Guernsey and the Isle of Man, re-opening on May 17 in England and Scotland. Compared to the first four months of pre-pandemic 2019, 2022 is running 27% behind.“Sonic The Hedgehog 2” is the No.1 film of April, grossing £22.8 million, and is the fourth-highest grossing film of the year so far.

Naman Ramachandran The latest in the Downton saga, Universal’s “Downton Abbey: A New Era” topped the U.K. and Ireland box office with £3.07 million ($3.8 million), according to numbers released by Comscore.

Naman Ramachandran It was a three way battle at the U.K. and Ireland the past weekend with Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” edging past Warner Bros.’ “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore” and another Paramount release “The Lost City” to top the box office.In its fourth weekend, “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” moved up from third place the previous week to claim the top spot with £1.63 million ($2 million), according to numbers released by Comscore.

In the wake of Illumination’s Nintendo movie Mario moving off of Wednesday, Dec. 21, Dreamworks Animation’s sequel Puss in Boots: The Last Wish will now take over that slot, moving back from its Sept. 23 release date.

Refresh for latest…: Warner Bros’ Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore crossed the $200M mark at the international box office this weekend, holding the top overseas position for the third frame in a row. The offshore session added $38.3M in 67 markets for a running total of $213.2M with worldwide at $280.3M.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorThe business of moviegoing may be grappling with unprecedented, pandemic-induced pressures, but no one should underestimate the economic value of a theatrical release.That was the strong perspective offered by Legendary Entertainment CEO Joshua Grode on Wednesday morning during a Q&A held as part of the Variety Power of Law breakfast, presented by City National Bank, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills.“I think there’s going to be a very vibrant theatrical business,” Grode told Variety Editor-in-Chief Claudia Eller, who conducted the 30-minute interview. Grode, a former lawyer who took the reins of Legendary in 2018, emphasized that Legendary’s model for backing big tentpole movies relies on strength at the box office to drive pricing and fees for premium VOD, pay-one television deals and other after-market exploitation that goes on for years.

Sony and Paramount have been flexing their muscles at the box office lately with a wide range of offerings. The two studios are responsible for seven of the 10 highest-grossing films of 2022 and currently represent more than 46% of all domestic revenues, according to Comscore.

Naman Ramachandran “The Lost City” and “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” led the U.K. and Ireland box office over the four-day Easter holiday weekend.Paramount’s “The Lost City,” with a star-studded cast including Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe and Brad Pitt, debuted with £2.7 million ($3.5 million) atop the box office, according to numbers released by Comscore.

“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” got off to a less than magical start in its first weekend in U.S. and Canadian theaters.

Though that result is on par with the $41 million opening of fellow Warner release “Dune” last October and the $44 million opening of Sony’s “Uncharted” in February, it is down 31% from the $62 million opening of the last “Fantastic Beasts” film, the ill-received “Crimes of Grindelwald” in 2018. Audience metrics for “Secrets of Dumbledore” have been somewhat better than for “Grindelwald” with a B+ on CinemaScore to go with a 4/5 from general audiences on Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak and an 85% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” grossed $20.1 million on April 15, its opening night, according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo database.Warner Bros.

“Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them” movie series, and shout that magic spell in hopes I can put this sputtering prequel franchise out of its misery. And miserable, it is.Running time: 142 minutes. Rated PG-13 (some fantasy action/violence).

Warner Bros. which has traditionally ruled the Easter weekend box office is back, now a year later after Godzilla vs. Kong brought bread to reopening cinemas during the pandemic, with J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. The pic’s stateside opening, and further expansion abroad into 44 markets, arrives days after the Warner Bros. Discovery merger went public.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, agreed to edit out two references to same-sex relationships from the film following demands from Chinese government censors.The censored dialogue, the removal of which ensured that the government would allow the film to be released to the public, occurs during a scene between main characters Albus Dumbledore, played by Jude Law, and Gellert Grindelwald, played by Mads Mikkelsen.The lines, which amounted to six seconds in total, were “…because I was in love with you” and “The summer Gellert and I fell in love,” reports the South China Morning Post.In 2007, J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter book series, declared that Dumbledore, who became the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry later in life, is gay, although he was never referenced as such in the books.Dumbledore’s sexual orientation was subsequently hinted at in the first two Fantastic Beasts films — which serve as prequels to the Harry Potter films — but it’s not until The Secrets of Dumbledore that the character’s sexuality if fully acknowledged on screen.

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros.’ “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £5.8 million ($7.6 million), according to numbers released by Comscore. In its second weekend, Paramount’s “Sonic The Hedgehog 2” collected £2.9 million and now has a total of £10.6 million.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is making big bucks!

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“Sonic the Hedgehog 2” powered to $71 million in its domestic box office debut, a hopeful indication that family audiences are feeling better about returning to theater.In taking the No. 1 spot, Paramount’s kid friendly film towered over Sony’s Marvel adaptation “Morbius” and Universal’s Michael Bay action-adventure “Ambulance,” which debuted to a disappointing $8 million.Ticket sales for “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” set a new high watermark for video game adaptations, supplanting the opening weekend record established by its predecessor, 2020’s “Sonic the Hedgehog.” The first movie collected $58 million in its first three days of release and ended the President’s Day holiday weekend with a mighty $70 million.

J. Kim Murphy As the box office opens two films featuring high-octane speedsters this weekend, one has emerged a clear victor.

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” has not had the easiest journey. Based on a slender volume of in-universe lore, it was author J.K.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSix new films were released in South Korea in the past week, including Sony’s Marvel franchise title “Morbius,” but none were able to relieve the current malaise afflicting the Korean theatrical industry. “Morbius” was released on Wednesday and ran off with more than half of the nationwide business, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).