Perhaps J.K. Rowling’s magical touch has seemingly begun to fade in America. Or maybe people were still concerned of the casting issues. Either way, “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” has marked a new low for the Wizarding World franchise at the U.S. box office, grossing $62.2 million over the weekend. The movie cost $200 million to produce.
Analysts estimated the sequel-prequel would make between $65 million and $75 million, the latter of which would have matched the opening of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” which grossed $74.4 million.
Previously, the lowest opening for a film in the original Harry Potter series was $77.1 million for “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.”
While the domestic start of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” is slightly lower than expected, it still managed to dominate the weekend box office. But Warner Bros., the studio behind the wizarding series, hopes “Fantastic Beasts” will become a stronger international play, where the second installment has already earned $191 million for a global opening of $253 million.
In the U.S. though, “Crimes of Grindelwald” has battled the worst reviews yet for a “Harry Potter” entry. It currently holds a 40 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a B+ Cinemascore.
“The Crimes of Grindelwald” is the second installment in what Warner Bros. intends to be a five-film franchise. Frequent “Harry Potter” collaborator David Yates returned to direct the sequel, which stars Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Johnny Depp, Ezra Miller, and Zoe Kravitz.
By: Maytinee Kramer
