Fantastic Beasts 2 Rakes In $62M At U.S. Box Office, $253M From Global Launch

According to THR, Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, raked in huge amount of money in its worldwide launch.

The network revealed that the movie debuted to $62.2 million from 4,163 theaters in North America, compared to $74.4 million for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them on the same pre-Thanksgiving weekend in 2016, and $253.2 million worldwide.

The first Fantastic Beasts reportedly fared better with critics and earned an A CinemaScore, while Crimes of Grindelwald battled generally poor reviews and a B+ CinemaScore.

The franchise is preparing to rake in billions of dollars from fans who will buy the film’s merchandise, attend the amusement parks and see the movies multiple times.

Only two years ago, moviegoers worldwide shelled out more than $814 million to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the first film in the series — and that’s not counting the $58 million spent on DVD and Blu-ray copies of the film.

The final film in the original series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” alone garnered more than $1.3 billion at the box office in 2011.