The third installment of the famous Harry Potter franchise has had a relatively slow international opening. In the United States, its release is scheduled for this Easter weekend. Fantastic Beasts 3 Box Office had a pre-release of $6 million, a worrying figure considering the size of this market. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is not having the projected success. The film was released in 22 markets, grossing $58 million. That’s a slump compared to the previous installment, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, which grossed $191 million in its international debut.
It is unwise to call these numbers catastrophic without first seeing the U.S. numbers, one of the most important markets for films. In addition, its release in the United States coincides with the Easter holidays, a perfect time to disconnect and enjoy a good movie with the family.
Fantastic Beasts 3, a Worrying Box Office Performance
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures.
This latest installment of the prequel saga, directed by David Yates, takes place years before the events we saw in the acclaimed Harry Potter. This time in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, we will enter this magical universe again. Faced with a new challenge, the magizoologist Newt Scamander will fight to stop the villain Gellert Grindelwald. He will get help from a brave group of wizards and witches. The cast stars Eddie Redmayne and includes Mads Mikkelsen, Jude Law, Dan Fogler, Ezra Miller, Alison Sudol, Callum Turner, William Nadylam, Callum Turner, Victoria Yeates, and Jessica Williams.
The film has grossed $58 million in 22 countries, with 44 additional markets. These foreign markets are countries that move large audiences to theaters, such as Mexico, Brazil, Korea, France, Italy, and the United States. However, this franchise has always been more popular with foreign audiences than in the U.S., so these numbers are troubling.
This film was already facing problems long before its release. The prequel saga to the adventures of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger has never enjoyed the same success as its predecessor. There have been many delays and dramas in production to make matters more difficult. On top of that, its filming coincided with the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Problems that may Explain the Bad Results
One of the cast members, Ezra Miller, is now in a dark controversy related to several allegations of violent behavior. The actor has been Warner’s poster child for almost a decade. He worked on many successful productions, such as Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021). The latter even went so far as to win the “Cheer Moment award” at the 2022 Oscars, for his scene as Flash. However, these scandals are not helping the film’s promotion, where Miller plays Credence Barebone, in which he has not been present.
The writer and creator of the series, J. K. Rowling, has also been the cause of scandal and public cancellation due to discriminatory comments.
As if this were not enough, actor Johnny Depp was removed from his role as the villain Gellert Grindelwald due to accusations of abuse by Amber Heard, his ex-wife. In addition, throughout this month, the trial between Depp and Heard is taking place. This process is generating headlines daily.
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures.
As we can see, there are quite a few problems surrounding the saga, and we cannot affirm that the poor box office results are a direct consequence of this. We can say that these setbacks are not benefiting the film’s promotion.
Are you going to see Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore? What do you think about Johnny Depp’s removal from the role? We’ll read you in the comments.
Featured Image: Warner Bros. Pictures.