After just two weekends in release, it seems cinema fans around the world have been welcoming the return of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World with open arms, seeing Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them race past the US$500m (AU$673m) mark at the global box office. Australia has added about AU$20m to that cumulative total, while North American box office receipts have made up about US$161m of it.
The film was always going to do well, but a “Certified Fresh” Rotten Tomatoes (currently sitting at 75%) rating has certainly helped. The positive response is also sure to validate Warner Bros. decision to extend the series into no less than five feature films.
The film is expected to continue to perform strongly through the holiday season – at least until Rogue One invites Star Wars fans back into theatres for a second consecutive year. Episode VII brought in over US$2 billion worldwide, and was the first film to soar past US$900m in US cinemas.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is in cinemas now.
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