Warner Bros. Pictures has confirmed that they have removed two lines, adding up to six seconds of dialogue in the film’s 143-minute runtime, from “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore”.
The cuts were made in order to appease the Chinese government with the studio taking out two clear references to the romantic past of Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) and Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen).
The lines, “I was in love with you” and “the summer Gellert and I fell in love,” both officially make it canon for the first time in the films that the beloved Hogwarts head is gay and had a romantic relationship with Grindelwald. The inclusion comes fifteen years after author J.K. Rowling first revealed it.
A Warner Bros. spokesperson said in a statement:
“As a studio, we’re committed to safeguarding the integrity of every film we release, and that extends to circumstances that necessitate making nuanced cuts in order to respond sensitively to a variety of in-market factors.
Our hope is to release our features worldwide as released by their creators but historically we have faced small edits made in local markets.
In the case of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, a six-second cut was requested and Warner Bros. accepted those changes to comply with local requirements but the spirit of the film remains intact.
We want audiences everywhere in the world to see and enjoy this film, and it’s important to us that Chinese audiences have the opportunity to experience it as well, even with these minor edits.”
The film has already opened in China, taking in $9.7 million on its opening weekend even with the country’s cinemas mostly closed due to the current outbreak. It also opened in 22 global markets to $58 million this past weekend, coming in at #1 in all those markets.
Still, the franchise stands at something of a crossroads. It has been four years since the poorly received and underperforming second entry arrived. That film’s $655 million haul, seen as a disappointment in 2018, could be a challenge to reach let alone surpass at the box-office in modern times. Only five movies have generated at least $500 million at the worldwide box office since early 2020.
‘Secrets’ has scored notably better reviews than its predecessor, partly to it more heavily linking to the “Harry Potter” films. Variety indicates the studio tried to make it on a tighter budget than the first two films, but the impact of the pandemic reportedly blew out the costs enough that it ended up coming in about the same at $200 million.
The trade also suggests that according to their sources: “Internally at Warners, there’s a growing sense the prequel series is no longer worth the time and treasure.” The franchise has had a string of bad luck as Rowling herself and two of the franchise’s stars – Johnny Depp and Ezra Miller – have become subjects of controversy.
Warners has not yet given a green light to a planned fourth entry, no script is in place, and a lot will depend on how “Secrets of Dumbledore” fares at the box-office – especially over the next three weekends until the next Marvel Studios entry arrives in early May.
Source: THR
