It’s been a rocky weekend for Warner Bros. and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindlewald. After a positive $9.1M in Thursday night previews in North America the film limped through the weekend to gross $62.2M.
The movie, which earned a B+ CinemaScore from the US audience, is pacing around 16% behind it’s predecessor according to Box Office Mojo. Estimates say the movie took $25.6M on Friday, $21.5M on Saturday before closing out the weekend with $15M on Sunday.
The good news is the J.K. Rowling penned sequel is performing better in international market. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opened with $187M internationally back in 2016. The Crimes Of Grindlewald has been able to outperform that opening with $191M this time around.
When all is said and done the global opening weekend is estimated to be around $253M. That may not be quite what Warner Bros. was hoping for but it’s still a strong opening overall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c14UkeC2yLA
At the end of the first film, the powerful dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald was captured by MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America), with the help of Newt Scamander. But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escaped custody and has set about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise wizards and witches up to rule over all non-magical beings.
In an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans, Albus Dumbledore 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 Grindlewald is directed by David Yates, with Rowling, David Heyman, Steve Kloves and Lionel Wigram producing. The film also stars Katherine Waterston as Tina, Alison Sudol as Queenie, Dan Fogler as Jacob, Ezra Miller as Credence, Zoë Kravitz as Leta Lestrange and Callum Turner as Theseus Scamander. The film arrives November 16, 2018.
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