The Harry Potter universe’s Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore was made with a blockbuster budget, but how much money does it need to make to be considered a box-office success? Although the third installment of the Harry Potter spin-off series will reach North American theatres on April 15th, the movie registered $58 million at the international box office during its opening weekend. Director David Yates’ film has received mixed-to-negative reviews, standing at a 58% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While there has been recognition for the actors’ abilities and a general consensus that Fantastic Beasts 3 is an improvement on 2018’s Crimes of Grindelwald, many quarters have cited the film as an unnecessary and uninspiring entry into the franchise.
The film charts the war between Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald that entangles Newt Scamander and various other witches and wizards around the world. The story act as a precursor to the wizarding world that Harry Potter first enters and was initially inspired by a textbook Harry had during his time at Hogwarts. The largest commercial draw of the Fantastic Beasts series lies in the crossover between itself and the Harry Potter series, and the emphasis upon Dumbledore and Grindelwald, two characters with murky and previously-unexplored backstories.
Given the popular characters and the previous returns of the first two Fantastic Beasts movies, it is little surprise that Warner Bros. shelled out such a sizeable budget for The Secrets of Dumbledore. The success of the previous films may suggest that Secrets of Dumbledore will rush to number one at the box office, however, the film landscape has changed since the Coronavirus pandemic and the competition of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 may impact how much the film will make. With that in mind, here is how much Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore cost to make and how much it needs to be seen as a box office success.
Fantastic Beasts 3’s Budget: How Much Secrets Of Dumbledore Cost
Fantastic Beasts 3 commands one of the largest film production costs of 2020 and is Warner Bros. Picture’s most expensive project of the year, coming in at approximately $200 million – the same budget for the previous two movies. The Wizarding World is one of the most expensive cinematic experiences to craft, owing in large part to the extravagant special and practical effects. The movie’s stellar cast, which includes Jude Law, Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, and Mads Mikkelson among others, will have also consumed a significant chunk of the budget. Mikkelson replaced Johnny Depp as Grindelwald after Depp was fired from the film and was paid $16 million – accounting for another large expense.
Fantastic Beasts 3 Box Office: How Much Secrets Of Dumbledore Needs To Make
Fantastic Beasts 3‘s significant budget means that Warner Bros. Pictures’ will be hoping that The Secrets of Dumbledore will emulate the box-office performance of its two predecessors, with Fantastic Beasts 1 raking in $814 million and Crimes of Grindelwald making $655 million. Secrets of Dumbledore‘s international opening weekend currently sits lower than the previous two films and the projections from Box Office Pro do not appear any more promising, suggesting that the film will only earn a total domestic box-office of between $100 million and $140 million.
To be viewed as a success, Fantastic Beasts 3 will need to be close to matching the return of Crimes of Grindelwald, however, the predictions indicate that this is unlikely. The recent controversies surrounding Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and star Ezra Miller could be partly responsible for the film’s lackluster performance thus far. Ultimately, however, the indifferent reviews of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore demonstrate that interest in the prequel series is drastically waning. Whilst the projections indicate that the total revenue from international and domestic box offices will recoup all of the movie’s budget, the disappointing performance may mean that Fantastic Beasts 4 will not be green-lit as originally planned.
