First « Fantastic Beasts » opened to $74.4 million
The first round of box office tracking is in for Warner Bros.’ “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” and early tracking shows that the film has a strong chance to match the opening weekend of its 2016 predecessor.
As is common with big releases, estimates from trackers are varying from one to another. One tracker is currently projecting an opening of $63 million, while another is projecting the sequel to come close to the first “Fantastic Beasts” opening of $74.4 million.
But with three weeks until the film’s release, there’s a lot of potential for the film to gain buzz amongst Harry Potter fans. While the first film’s marketing focused on what separated this new installment of J. K. Rowling’s “Wizarding World” from the Potter series — new characters, new creatures, and a magical New York — this film is being treated more as a prequel to Rowling’s legendary boy wizard saga.
Trailers for the film show footage of Hogwarts decades before Harry’s arrival on its hallowed grounds, as well as a sneak peek of Jude Law as future headmaster Albus Dumbledore and Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald, Albus’ former companion turned dark rival. The trailer has also revealed that Nagini, Voldemort’s future pet snake, was originally a woman cursed to become the slithering giant reptile.
Depp’s presence in the film and in its promotion has led to bad publicity. Depp appeared at WB’s San Diego Comic-Con presentation at the same time that Amber Heard, his ex-wife who has accused him of domestic violence, was there to promote “Aquaman.” But that doesn’t seem to be affecting interest in the film, particularly among family audiences more interested in wizarding adventures than Hollywood headlines.
If the film gets solid word of mouth from fans and critics, it will have a chance at reaching $200 million domestic, as the first “Fantastic Beasts” did when it grossed $214 million stateside two years ago. But the big test will be overseas, where “Fantastic Beasts” grossed $580 million to drive it to an $814 million global haul. Prior to the first film’s release, Rowling revealed that plans were in motion to make “Fantastic Beasts” a five film saga, so sustaining that global interest will be key to the franchise’s long-term viability.
More to come…
