has earned the lowest-grossing debut in the franchise’s history.
The third entry in the Wizarding World spin-off series, following the adventures of magizoologist Newt Scamander, played by Oscar winner , opened on Friday 8 April in select markets – including the UK – before opening this weekend in the US.
The movie, which has , is sitting on an uninspiring 48% on Rotten Tomatoes, although its audience rating is currently a much more positive 85%.
In terms of box office, the film managed to scrape a $43million (£33m) opening weekend in the US, although a better performance worldwide saw it add $71.7m (£55m) internationally in its second week to a total in released territories outside the US of $150.4m (£115.2m), and $193.4m (£148.2m) overall.
However, this figure sees it behind both of its predecessors.
According to , The Secrets of Dumbledore is down 38% on The Grimes of Grindelwald and 42% lower than the first film’s opening in 2016.
However, the film is not being released in Russia and much of China (for which ) remains under strict Covid protocols, affecting performance in another major territory.
The film, slated to be the third in a series of five written by Harry Potter author for the screen, is directed by David Yeates and also stars , , , Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, William Nadylam, Callum Turner, Jessica Williams and Victoria Yeates.
It has had a bumpy ride to release following original Gellert Grindelwald star stepping aside over an article that labelled him a ‘wife beater’; he is currently over domestic abuse allegations – which he denies – with ex .
Hannibal star Mads Mikkelsen was cast as his replacement, to plenty of praise, but revealed in a new interview that he was on whether he wanted to accept the role.
Miller also faced legal troubles after a recent karaoke bar incident in Hawaii, which has left , it has been claimed.
Finally, author JK Rowling has faced ongoing criticism over her .
In better news for studio Warner Bros though, has soared past $750m at the global box office, making it the top grossing film of 2022 to date as well as one of the biggest releases of the pandemic.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is in cinemas now.
