Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore has been released, and fans of the series are either turned off by the controversy surrounding most of the film and franchise in general or are just uninterested in going to cinemas. Why? Because the picture is still at a low point in its run. Despite being the top-grossing international title for the third consecutive weekend with $38.3 million from 24,617 screens in 67 countries, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore has yet to achieve the popularity of its predecessors in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore raked in $3.4 million in worldwide IMAX box office revenue in its third weekend, bringing the overall haul to $18.7 million. North America contributed $1.6 million to the IMAX box office total, bringing the domestic total to $6.7 million, while IMAX oversea grossed $1.8 million, bringing the international total to $12 million.
It comes as no surprise for a variety of reasons. Aside from the usual COVID elements that contributed to the film’s dismal box office performance, the third Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them film was also beset by a variety of issues that fans didn’t support. As a whole, J.K. Rowling’s attacks on the trans community and rejection of trans women are hurting the series.
While Rowling is a big cause of dissatisfaction, she is not the only reason why fans are disinterested in the Wizarding World and, more specifically, this film. The Flash star Ezra Miller, the actor who is also a cast member of the film, was recently detained in Hawaii.
There are also a lot of changes to the movie, as former star Johnny Depp has been replaced by Mads Mikkelsen. While this would have been a draw for fans of Mikkelsen, in combination with everything else going against the picture simply hasn’t achieved the box office returns that previous films had.
What this all signifies for the future of the Harry Potter series and the universe built by Rowling is still in limbo. A lackluster box office for something like this, which used to be an attraction for movie theaters, indicates that viewers’ preferences have shifted, and whether it was the controversy surrounding the film or other causes, it seems as if Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is the series’ demise.
