LOS ANGELES: “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” dominated the weekend box office, debuting to a boisterous $75 million and launching a new cinematic franchise.
It confirms Warner Bros.’ high hopes for the property and its decision to back five installments in the fantasy series. The film is a spin-off of the Harry Potter films, but instead of Hogwarts, it unfolds in 1920s New York City and features an entirely new cast of wizards and mythical creatures.
The studio spent $180 million to make the picture, enlisting Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling to write the screenplay and bringing back David Yates, the director of several previous boy wizard outings.
Audiences may have embraced the return to Potter-dom, but they gave the cold shoulder to several new films, among them the boxing drama “Bleed for This” and the Iraq War drama “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk.” Both films bombed, with “Bleed for This” eking out an estimated $2.5 million and “Billy Lynn’s” mustering roughly $1 million after expanding from four to 1,176 theaters.
’Fantastic Beasts’ creates magic at US box office
’Fantastic Beasts’ creates magic at US box office
