Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them conquers weekend box office.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them dominated the box office this weekend, debuting with $75 million from 4,144 theaters.
Written by Potter author J.K. Rowling, the $180 million production is the first of a five-film franchise. The plot of the principal feature, directed by David Yates, follows Newt Scamander, a magizoologist (played by Eddie Redmayne), who ends up bringing chaos to 1920’s New York City when some of his magical creatures are accidentally released.
“This is dead on what we were looking for,” said Jeff Goldstein, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. “Jo Rowling brilliantly told a story that inspired her fanbase to come out in a big way.”
Redmayne stars alongside Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Colin Farrell, Carmen Ejogo, Samantha Morton, Ezra Miller, Ron Perlman and Jon Voight. The film received a 76 percent “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and an A CinemaScore from moviegoers.
Slipping to second place – after topping the charts for the past two weeks – is superhero film Doctor Strange with $17.7 million ($181.5 million to date). Holdover Trolls followed in third place with $17.5 million in its third weekend of release, accumulating $116.2 million domestically.
Rounding out the top five is Amy Adams sci-fi film Arrival in fourth with $11.8 million ($43.4 million total) and holiday comedy Almost Christmas in fifth with $7 million ($25.4 million total).
As for the weekend’s other three newcomers, Edge of Seventeen, Bleed For This and Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk fell in seventh, eighth, and outside of the Top 10, respectively.
Teen comedy Edge of Seventeen took in a measly $4.8 million debut from 1,945 theaters, despite positive critic and audience reviews (95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and an A-minus CinemaScore). Bleed For This followed with a $2.4 million opening from 1,549 theaters, earning a 63 percent “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and an A-minus CinemaScore from moviegoers.
The Ang Lee Iraq War drama Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk bombed in its national release, earning only $930,000 ($1.1 million total).
“We went from famine to feast and now we almost have too many options,” Dergarabedian says. “How are you going to see all these movies? People have to parse out their time and money. You have to hope that good reviews will win out and audiences will discover them.”
Top 10 Films at Weekend Box Office: November 18-20
- Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them – $75 million
- Doctor Strange – $17.7 million
- Trolls – $17.5 million
- Arrival – $11.8 million
- Almost Christmas – $7 million
- Hacksaw Ridge – $6.8 million
- The Edge Of Seventeen – $4.8 million
- Bleed For This – $2.4 million
- The Accountant – $2.1 million
- Shut In – $1.6 million
