Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore isn’t seeing a lot of magic at the box office after a so-so debut on Friday.
The Harry Potter spinoff sequel grossed $20.1 million on Friday and that’s a figure that includes the $6 million it made in Thursday night previews, per Deadline. This is the very definition of diminishing returns as the Fantastic Beasts franchise just hasn’t caught on in the same way as Harry Potter.
After a great start in 2016 with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them ($74.4 million opening), the franchise saw its first dip with The Crimes of Grindelwald ($62.2 million opening). Given the Friday estimate, The Secrets of Dumbledore might match my $40 million predictions for the weekend, which make it a franchise-low opening for the greater Harry Potter universe. Given the film’s $200 million budget, it’s going to have to rely heavily on overseas business to see a profit. As of now, it’s looking at a $175 million global debut. The sequel also earned a “B+” CinemaScore, matching the opening day grade of The Crimes of Grindelwald.
In other news, Father Stu is looking like it’s coming in slightly lower than my $8 million predictions at about $7 million over five days. The movie grossed $1.64 million on Friday and despite a solid “A” CinemaScore, the film isn’t really breaking out beyond the audience that really wants to see it.
Everything Everywhere All at Once actually came in ahead of Father Stu on Friday with a gross of $1.9 million. A24 bumped up the theater count for the critically acclaimed multiverse effort and the result could represent a $5 million opening weekend, down just 15% from the previous weekend. A24 really is turning the film into a gradual word-of-mouth success and it should continue to perform solidly in the weeks ahead.
Check back later for the full box office report as the final weekend results come in!