The obituaries were being written for the Fantastic Beasts franchise even before The Secrets of Dumbledore had released, such is the apathy with which the third installment in the planned five-film prequel series has been viewed since the dust settled on The Crimes of Grindelwald.
Coming hot off the heels of the worst-reviewed and lowest-grossing chapter in the Wizarding World yet, The Secrets of Dumbledore could have really done without more controversy swirling around J.K. Rowling, never mind a global pandemic that saw the movie delayed significantly, before it was released into a marketplace that’s still in a state of recovery.
Despite topping the domestic charts in its opening weekend, $43 million didn’t get Fantastic Beasts 3 off to a great start, and it dropped by almost 70% in its sophomore frame to fall to third behind newcomer The Bad Guys and holdover Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
It’s all doom and gloom on home soil, then, but international audiences may be able to save Fantastic Beasts from outright failure. Following another strong overseas performance, Newt and Albus’ latest odd couple buddy adventure has brought in $213 million from outside the United States, which will be good enough to see it pass $300 million globally in a matter of days.
Of course, the elephant in the room is Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which could cut The Secrets of Dumbledore off at the knees when it arrives next weekend, but the magical blockbuster is well-placed to reach the mythical $400 million barrier by the time it slinks out of sight and out of mind.