‘Fantastic Beasts’ Brings Less Magic Than Hoped for Warner

(Bloomberg) -- “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” a sequel from the world of Harry Potter, topped the weekend box office in North America for Warner Bros., but attracted smaller crowds than expected.

• “Grindelwald” -- the second of five expected movies from the “Fantastic Beasts” series -- took in $62.2 million in ticket sales, Comscore Inc. said Monday. That was shy of the $65 million predicted by Box Office Mojo and Box Office Pro. Overseas the news was better, with sales of about $191 million.

Key Insights

• The movie was dogged by mixed reviews. Rotten Tomatoes assigned it a rating of 45 percent, meaning the majority of critics didn’t recommend it.
• The film cost a pricey $200 million, before marketing costs, more than the $180 million spent on the previous movie, according to Box Office Mojo. With such a steep budget, the movie will need to lean on international sales to break even at the box office.
• Paramount Pictures’ “Instant Family,” one of the weekend’s other debuts, generated $14.5 million and placed fourth. That was a bit ahead of the forecast of $14 million by Box Office Pro. The comedy, starring Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne, got mixed reviews.
• 20th Century Fox’s heist movie “Widows,” from Oscar nominated director Steve McQueen, placed fifth with $12.4 million, in line with Box Office Pro’s $12 million forecast. It scored better with critics, with 91 percent recommending the movie on Rotten Tomatoes, and has been cited as a possible Oscar contender.

Get More

• See weekend box-office statistics from Box Office Mojo.
• See Rotten Tomatoes ratings for top movies.

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.