What’s in a name? Well, in the case ofHarry Potter, a lot of money. Warner Bros. is looking to capitalize further on the good name of theHarry Potterfranchise with the upcoming spinoffFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. However, with the famous wizard’s name absent from the title of this new movie, the box office could suffer a bit when compared to the rest of theHarry Pottermovies.
According to SFGate,Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themis currently tracking for an opening weekend box office around $75 million. For most movies, that would be worth popping champagne over, but Warner Bros. has very high expectations for this movie and the franchise potential behind it. Should it come in at the $75 million mark, that would put it lower than the opening weekend of any of theHarry Potter movies.
BothHarry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceandHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenixdebuted at right around $77 million, soFantastic Beastshas a good chance of being able to best those two movies. Still, that would put it on the low end for the franchise. That being said, theHarry Potterfranchise has historically done very well overall at the box office and opening weekend isn’t everything. Worldwide,Order of the PhoenixandHalf-Blood Princeare the fourth and fifth highest grossing in theHarry Potterfranchise, despite their comparatively low opening weekend box office.
Even thoughFantastic Beastsisn’t related toHarry Potterin name, it is very much an authentic part of the wizarding world.J.K. Rowlingwrote the script for the movie herself and has been heavily involved in the project from the beginning. Warner Bros. andRowlinghave a lot of faith in the project, as they have already officially announced a sequel with directorDavid Yatesset to return, as well as plans for potentially five movies in total. Even if the movie does come in right at the $75 million mark, that should be enough for the studio to continue with their plans. The lowest grossingHarry Pottermovie to date wasHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which still grossed $796 million worldwide. IfFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themcan do that, it would surely be enough to justify continuing on with the franchise.
Outside of not havingHarry Potterin the name,Fantastic Beastscould suffer a little from another movie that is about to drop in the U.S. Marvel’s latest movieDoctor Strangeis coming out just a couple of weeks beforeFantastic Weeks and Where to Find Them, and the buzz on it has been overwhelmingly positive.Doctor Strangealso centers around magic, albeit a very different kind, but that could perhaps take some of the wind out ofFantastic Beastssales when it comes to the more general public, who may not pay to see two magic movies in the same month. November could very well become a cinematic sorcery showdown at the box office. Marvel Studios has proven they know how to bring it in at the box office, butHarry Potterfans are feverish and shouldn’t be underestimated.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themtakes place in New York in 1926 and followsNewt Scamander(Eddie Redmayne) as he tries to round up a bunch of magical creatures who manage to get loose in the city. In addition to the Oscar winner, the cast also includesKatherine Waterston,Dan Fogler,Alison Sudol,Ezra Miller,Samantha Morton,Jon Voight,Ron Perlman,Carmen Ejogo,Jenn Murray,Faith Wood-BlagroveandColin Farrell.Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themopens in theaters on November 18 with a sequel set to drop on August 25, 2025.
