Who’d of thought we’d ever be in a position to speculate about something from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter underperforming at the worldwide box-office, but in this strange moviegoing landscape this franchise feels like one that has lost that little bit of magic. Whether that’s pandemic related, down to off-screen caveats associated with creator of this world, or simply because The Crimes of Grindelwald just wasn’t that good, the opening of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore is an intriguing one, and one which experts have earmarked for a franchise low $50M+.
We said in our ★★★ review that while this features “genuinely dazzling special effects” and a “terrifying” Mads Mikkelsen performance, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore was yet “another entry in the series proving that this didn’t need to be a five-part story”. That appears to be translating to the box-office predictions, with Deadline reporting that early projections have the threequel bringing in receipts within the mid-$50M range from 22 international territories, including the always lucrative UK, where The Crimes of Grindelwald still managed to gross $44M, Australia, Germany, Japan, Spain and China.
The latter territory remains an issue because the current lockdown restrictions have meant the closing of most cinemas in China, where Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them made $85M back in 2016, while its much-maligned sequel took home $57M two years later. That’s a fair chunk of change to take into account when analysing this international opening.
Both of those films opened in like-for-like markets to the tune of $120M and $115M respectively, and rounded our their theatrical runs with $580M and $495M internationally. Anywhere near those totals this time for the 60% rated-fresh film really would be quite the magic trick.
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Professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) knows the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) is moving to seize control of the wizarding world. Unable to stop him alone, he entrusts Magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) to lead an intrepid team of wizards, witches, and one brave Muggle baker on a dangerous mission, where they encounter old and new beasts and clash with Grindelwald’s growing legion of followers. But with the stakes so high, how long can Dumbledore remain on the sidelines?
The film features an ensemble cast led by Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne (“The Theory of Everything”), two-time Oscar nominee Jude Law (“Cold Mountain,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley”), Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Callum Turner, Jessica Williams, Katherine Waterston, and Mads Mikkelsen.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is set for release on April 8th, 2022.
