In 2016, the first movie of the Fantastic Beasts franchise hit the theaters. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themfollows Newt Scamander, played by Eddie Redmayne, as he tries to local the magical creatures that accidentally escaped his leather suitcase. With the help of Tina Goldstein, Queenie Goldstein, and muggle Jacob Kowalski—played by Katherine Waterson, Alison Sudol, and Dan Fogler—the group finds themselves unraveling a secret that no one expected. The movie was a hit, to say the least. With a budget of $175-200 million, the box office made around $814 million and the film received a score of 74% on Rotten Tomatoes.
It was clear that a sequel inevitable.
The second instalment followed quickly and hit the theaters in 2018: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. With a returning cast and a mystery still to be explored, many Harry Potter fans were excited and thrilled by the continuation. Yet there was some disappointment. Some viewers found the “increasingly jumbled story and confusing narrative” overwhelming. The sudden addition of a new Dumbledore that was never mentioned in the Harry Potter series left others feeling conflicted and disappointed, and the “elephant in the room that was Johnny Depp” had some people hesitant (the movie came out during the time of the Depp vs. Heard accusations). Compared to the hit first movie, this film earned a “paltry 37% on Rotten Tomatoes and became the lowest-grossing Harry Potter movie” at the time—earning “$653.8 million from a reported budget of $200 million”.
This left the Fantastic Beasts franchise in the air. No one was sure whether or not there would be a third movie…and some people weren’t even sure if they wanted one. But then there was news of the third movie in production and that it was planned to be released in November 2022. It was also announced that Johnny Depp would not be appearing in the third installment; instead, Depp was replaced with Mads Mikkelsen. However, due to COVID-19, the movie’s release date was pushed back to 2022 and was hence released on April 15, 2022.
To date, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is the lowest-grossing Harry Potter film. With a budget of $200 million, the film earned only $404.5 million and received a score of 46%. A score higher than Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald but lower than Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Now, will there be more?
Well, Warner Bros. had originally stated that Fantastic Beasts would only be a trilogy. However, “in October 2016, it was announced that the planned three-film franchise would expand to include five films”. That being said, the fourth movie was announced to be in production and “could be released as early as the fall of 2024”.
In the fall of 2022, it was officially announced by Warner Bros. that Fantastic Beasts 4 was no longer in development. It is unknown to whether or not Fantastic Beasts will be continued but Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav “says that there is potential to work with Rowling on future Harry Potter projects”.
Personally, I believe that it’s time to stop the Fantastic Beast series and focus on something else. Maybe the Marauder Era—or maybe the storyline of Tom Riddle’s parents. What do you think? Is there something you wish Warner Bros. would further explore?
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