It’s a case of diminishing returns at the box office for the Fantastic Beasts franchise. The third installment—Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore—is poised to top the domestic box office in its debut weekend, but a three-day projection of $44.5 million will make for the lowest opening for the Harry Potter spinoff series.Secrets of Dumbledoremade $6 million in Thursday previews, and $20.1 million on Friday.
By comparison, the first film in the franchise—2016’sFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them—made $74 million in its opening weekend. It finished with over $800 million worldwide. The sequel, 2018’sFantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald—debuted with $62 million and tapped out with a little over $650 million worldwide.
Warner Bros was forced to reconsider future plans for the series for a variety of reasons, including a visible disinterest among fans, and behind-the-scenes issues pertaining to starsJohnny DeppandEzra Miller, and series creator and screenwriterJ.K. Rowling. The third film’s budget ballooned because of the pandemic, further adding to W.B.’s concerns. The studio will reportedly evaluate the performance of the third film before deciding on the planned fourth and fifth films.
RELATED:‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’ Review: The Harry Potter Prequel Series Finally Finds the Magic
Secrets of Dumbledorewill have to rely on foreign box office to be counted as a success. By the end of the weekend, it is expected to come within touching distance of the $200 million mark. It opened in select international markets last weekend.
Falling to second place after a spectacular debut weekend, Paramount’sSonic the Hedgehog 2is expected to make $26.5 million, taking its domestic total to over $115 million. The video game sequel continues Paramount’s successful run at the box office this year.
The studio also claimed the number three spot, with the romantic comedyThe Lost City. StarringSandra Bullock,Channing TatumandDaniel Radcliffe(not to mentionBrad Pittin a much-publicized cameo), the film is expected to make $5.85 million in its fourth weekend, pushing its domestic total to just under $80 million.
After a major expansion, A24’s buzzy titleEverything Everywhere All at Oncetook the number four spot with an estimated $5.1 million. The universally acclaimed film, from director duo Daniels, added nearly 1,000 screens this weekend, and its running domestic total now stands at over $16 million.
Sony’s faith-basedMark Wahlberg-starrerFather Sturounded out the top five, with an estimated $4.7 million. The film was released on Wednesday, and could touch a running domestic total of $7 million by the end of the weekend. Wahlberg recently co-starred in the hit video game adaptationUncharted, and has expressed interest in only appearing in faith-based films going forward.
Overall business for the weekend is expected to top $111 million, which is surprisingly better than the same weekend in pre-pandemic 2019. Next weekend will see the release ofNicolas Cage’s action-comedyThe Unbearable Weight of Massive Talentand directorRobert Eggers’ Viking revenge sagaThe Northman. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
