Reviews may not be magical [read ours here and here], but it seems that isn’t going to dissuade fans of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World from heading out to see Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald this coming weekend.
According to Deadline, the film – the second chapter of five planned Harry Potter spinoff prequels – it tracking a global opening weekend of between $253 million and $275 million. Analysts are predicting around $65 million to $70 million in North America, with a further $188 million to $205 million from the international markets.
Even at the low end of that range, that’s a 15% increase on the global bow of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which went on to gross $814 million worldwide following its release in 2016. Whether the second movie manages to display those kind of legs remains to be seen, but if these opening weekend projections are accurate it certainly seems like The Crimes of Grindelwald will be getting off to a good start.
SEE ALSO: 10 Best ‘Fantastic Beasts’ In J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World
At the end of the first film, the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) was captured by MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America), with the help of Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne). But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escaped custody and has set about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings.
In an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans, Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is set for release on November 16th 2018 and sees David Yates directing a cast that includes Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, Katherine Waterston as Tina Goldstein, Alison Sudol as Queenie Goldstein, Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski, Ezra Miller as Credence Barebone, Zoe Kravitz as Leta Lestrange, Kevin Guthrie as Abernathy, Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald, Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore, Callum Turner as Theseus Scamander, William Nadylam as Yusuf Kama, Ingvar Sigurdsson as Grimmson, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Skender, David Sakurai as Krall, Brontis Jodorowsky as Nicolas Flamel, Wolf Roth as Spielman, Victoria Yeates as Bunty, Derek Riddell as Torquil Travers, Poppy Corby-Tuech as Rosier, Cornell S. John as Arnold Guzman and Claudia Kim as Nagini.
