“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” the newest spin-off to the Harry Potter franchise from Warner Bros., hit theaters as the top movie in North American theaters this weekend, toppling “Sonic the Hedgehog 2”.
“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” the newest spin-off to the Harry Potter franchise from Warner Bros., hit theaters as the top movie in North American theaters this weekend, toppling “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” after just a week at the top of the chart.
Industry researcher Comscore Inc. said the third installment of the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise brought in $42.2 million over its weekend in the US and Canada. Boxoffice Pro forecast $44.1 million in revenue for the extended Easter weekend. The film follows zoologist Newt Scamander and his battle against a dark wizard. “Sonic 2,” the highest-grossing children’s film of the pandemic last weekend, grossed $29.3 million to place second in theaters and its distributor, Paramount Pictures. . The quirky sci-fi movie “Anywhere Anytime” brought in $6.19 million and landed in fourth place.
Key insights
According to review aggregator RottenTomatoes.com, just over half of critics recommended the latest “Fantastic Beasts,” topping its predecessor, “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.”
The latest fantasy film stars Eddie Redmayne as a wizard who studies magical creatures. Jude Law plays Albus Dumbledore.
“Fantastic Beasts” is the kind of family-friendly, attention-grabbing movie that studios now deem worthy of a theatrical release. But a few exceptions managed to resonate with audiences.
“Anywhere Anytime,” an indie film with a modest budget, has expanded to 2,200 theaters.
Each installment of the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise had less opening weekend openings than its predecessor.
In 2016, the original film “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” grossed more than $74 million in theaters in the US and Canada in its opening weekend, while 2018’s “Crime of Grindelwald” grossed 62.1 million dollars, according to Box Office Mojo.
Box office revenue year-to-date has increased fivefold, to about $1.72 billion, year-over-year, Comscore reported.
