LOS ANGELES: “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” the third chapter in the “Harry Potter” spinoff series, collected a muted $43 million in its domestic box office debut.
The mixed reviews and growing apathy for prequel series star Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), “The Secrets of Dumbledore” stands as the worst start for a Harry Potter-adjacent movie.
Its predecessors 2016’s “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” launched to $74 million in North America, while the 2018 follow-up “The Crimes of Grindelwald” bowed to $62 million.
Warner Bros. shelled out $200 million to produce “The Secrets of Dumbledore” and the studio spent tens of millions more to promote the film to audiences across the globe.
Like its predecessors, “The Secrets of Dumbledor” will be reliant on the international box office to make money in its theatrical run. The first two “Fantastic Beasts” installments — which ended with $814 million globally and $650 million globally, respectively — made nearly 75% of revenues from foreign sales.
“Fantastic Beasts 3,” has been a bigger draw to overseas audiences. Since the film touched down in several foreign markets last weekend, “The Secrets of Dumbledore” has grossed $193 million globally to date.
The persistence of COVID-19 has cut into the box office in China, where 50% of movie theaters are closed, while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine means that country is not granted access to Hollywood’s films. Since the pandemic began in 2020, only five Hollywood movies have generated at least $500 million at the global box office.
“Harry Potter” veteran David Yates directed the third chapter in the prequel series, which follows the beloved Hogwarts professor Albus Dumbledore (portrayed by Jude Law).
In “Fantastic Beasts 3,” a young Albus and Scamander, a notable magizoologist, team up to thwart the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Madds Mikkelson, replacing Johnny Depp) from igniting a wizarding world war. The cast also includes Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Callum Turner and Jessica Williams.
This weekend’s other major release, Sony’s R-rated faith-based drama “Father Stu,” flopped in its domestic debut, earning only $5 million from 2,705 North American theaters.
The film, which sunk to fifth place, has earned $8 million since opening on Wednesday. Mark Wahlberg, who stars in the film with Mel Gibson, produced “Father Stu” and used his own money when COVID-19 increased extra costs to production.
In the No. 2 spot, family friendly “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” sped to $30 million from 4,258 cinemas, declining 58% in its second weekend of release. As “Sonic 2” continues to charm audiences, the film has generated a strong $119.6 million in North America to date.
Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum’s romantic action-adventure “The Lost City” took third place for the second weekend in a row. The movie collected $6.5 million in its fourth weekend in theaters, bringing its domestic tally to $78.5 million.
A24’s genre-overload “Everything Everywhere All At Once” enjoyed another impressive run, moving up to fourth place with $6.1 million from 2,220 screens. Directed by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert and starring Michelle Yeoh in a multiverse action-adventure-comedy-fantasy-sci-fi mashup, has earned $17.6 million so far.
