‘Fantastic Beasts 3’ Falls to Franchise-Low $43 Million Opening at Easter Box Office

kick off the summer blockbuster season in style and give audiences another reminder of what a pandemic box office could look like if back to full strength. Independent trackers suggest that “Doctor Strange 2” could bring in $160 million in its opening weekend, with some going even higher to a $200 million start, if below what “No Way Home” managed.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterUniversal’s kid-friendly caper “The Bad Guys” pulled off a heist for the ages, capturing the No. 1 spot at the domestic box office.The animated comedy has collected $24 million from 4,009 North American theaters in its debut, enough to take the crown from “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.” In its second weekend of release, the latest chapter in the “Harry Potter” prequel series plummeted to third place with $14 million, a troubling sign for the Warner Bros.’ Wizarding film franchise.“The Bad Guys” may have towered over the competition, but it was not the only newcomer to movie theater marquees.

“The Northman,” Focus Features’ Viking revenge epic from acclaimed director Robert Eggers, made $1.35 million in its Thursday preview screenings at the box office across 2,700 theaters with previews that began at 7 p.m. “The Northman” opens on 3,214 screens this weekend.Universal’s animated family film “The Bad Guys,” which is expected to lead the box office, made $1.15 million Thursday from preview screenings beginning at 5:00 p.m.

Is it truly a marketplace for branded tentpoles and uber low budget fare at the box office as the pandemic eases?

In an unusual feat for really any Monday at the box office, the No 2 movie from this past weekend, beat the No. 1 opening pic. Specifically, Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2 made $4.5M yesterday to Warner Bros.’ The Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore‘s $3.68M.

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 franchise.The actor is now playing Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore after Depp was asked to leave the franchise by Warner Bros in 2020.Depp lost his libel case against The Sun in November 2020, which was launched after the newspaper described the actor as a “wife-beater” in relation to allegations from his ex-wife Amber Heard, claims Depp has strongly denied.Depp later addressed the Fantastic Beasts situation on his Instagram account in a statement responding to “recent events”, explaining why he was leaving the franchise.In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Mikkelsen has now recalled how he was given just two days by producers to make a decision on playing Grindelwald.“It was quite chaotic,” Mikkelsen said of that period, during which he watched the first two films and read the script for Secrets, which he said was “a great story”.“You don’t want to copy anything [Depp was] doing — that would be creative suicide,” the actor added. “Even if [a role has] been done to perfection, you want to make it your own.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” welcomed a boost in ticket sales at the international box office, though the third installment in the “Harry Potter” spinoff series already seems to be running out of steam.Over the weekend, “Fantastic Beasts 3” added $71.7 million from 66 foreign markets, taking the film’s international tally to $150.4 million. After debuting to a less-than-enchanting $43 million in North America, “The Secrets of Dumbledore” has collected $193.4 million to date.Along with United States and Canada, the Warner Bros.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” the third chapter in the “Harry Potter” spinoff series, collected a muted $43 million in its domestic box office debut.In pandemic times, those ticket sales were enough to lead this weekend’s box office charts and land one of the biggest North American openings in 2022. But it’s also a sign that magic is in short supply for J.K. Rowling’s lucrative and ever-expanding Wizarding World.

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

“The Batman” joins a list led by “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($1.89 billion) and also includes the Chinese films “The Battle at Lake Changjin” ($902.5 million) and “Hi, Mom” ($822 million) as well as the James Bond movie “No Time to Die” ($774 million). “The incredible response we’ve seen at theaters across the country is a testament to both the enduring power of this iconic DC superhero and the huge appetite out there to experience great movies on the big screen,” said Warner domestic distribution head Jeff Goldstein in a statement.

While industry estimates have the film potentially stretching to $44 million, which would equal what Sony’s “Uncharted” opened to in February, “Fantastic Beasts 3” had double the reported production budget at around $200 million. More importantly, the estimated opening is substantially down from the $62 million opening of “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’ in 2018, which itself was down from the $74 million launch of the first “Fantastic Beasts” in 2016.

J. Kim Murphy While the domestic box office is showing signs of life after an age of COVID lockdowns, it seems that not every film franchise is being buoyed by a return of theatergoers.”Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” Warner Bros.’ latest entry in its prequel series to the “Harry Potter” franchise, is off to a somewhat rocky start, projected to land a record low debut for a Wizarding World film.The third “Fantastic Beasts” earned $20.1 million on Friday and Thursday night previews from 4,753 North American locations, which marks the lowest opening day figure for a “Potter”-adjacent film.

Mads Mikkelsen has revealed he was given two days notice to replace Johnny Depp in a leading role in the Fantastic Beasts film franchise. Hannibal actor Mads, 56, took over the role of genocidal wizard villain Gellert Grindewald in newly released The Secrets of Dumbledore.

“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).

“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” the latest film in the Wizarding World universe and the third movie as part of the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise, brought in $6 million in its Thursday box office previews from over 3,350 screens. While “Fantastic Beasts” looked to be a once promising franchise when it launched in 2016, the third film, “The Secrets of Dumbledore,” has been dogged by off screen controversy and is following up some tepid reviews for the previous film “The Crimes of Grindelwald.” And while independent trackers say that “Secrets of Dumbledore” could climb to between $47-50 million this weekend, that would be below the prior installment.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” the latest attempt to expand J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world beyond Harry Potter, earned $6 million from Thursday previews.The production is on track to earn roughly $40 million in its opening weekend, which would be the weakest start for a Potter-adjacent movie. 2016’s “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” launched to $74 million in North America, while the 2018 follow-up “The Crimes of Grindelwald” bowed to  $62 million.

It is looking like the “Fantastic Beasts” movies are putting Warner Bros. in a difficult position.

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.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterAn pack of intrepid wizards will duel against a tiny blue speed demon to lead domestic box office charts.The odds-on favorite “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” the third entry in the “Harry Potter” spinoff series, is expected to debut to at least $40 million from 4,200 North American theaters. Those ticket sales should be enough to surpass the competition — unless last weekend’s champion “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” powers to another strong turnout at the movies.