“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” kicked off its domestic box-office with a strong $6 million in Thursday previews.
This third installment in the “Harry Potter” prequel spin-off series is targeting a $40-50 million Easter weekend domestic haul, considerably down from the $74.4 million and $62.2 million opening weekends of the prior two films.
That said, Warners should be happy with the new film’s numbers which are not far behind the first two. All eyes however will be on the film’s global gross this weekend and whether the film will be on track to reach the considerable gross the studio requires to determine if they will keep going with the next two films.
The franchise has been hit by issues of being costly to produce and hitting delays, of various key players being the subjects of controversy, and of public apathy towards these post-Potter films.
The other big film opening this weekend is the religious-themed “Father Stu” starring Mark Wahlberg. That film opened on Wednesday and is on track for a five-day start of just $7 million.
Source: THR
