Latest installment of ‘Beasts’ devours ‘Sonic 2’

Warner Bros.’ “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” failed to repeat the magic of its predecessors at the domestic box office last weekend.

According to estimates from measurement firm Comscore, the third installment in the Wizarding World franchise opened to $43 million — the highest total of the weekend, albeit the lowest North American debut of any “Fantastic Beasts” film.

The “Harry Potter” spinoff film received a lackluster 48% rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes and a B-plus grade from audiences polled by CinemaScore.

Directed by David Yates, “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” stars Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Callum Turner, Jessica Williams, Katherine Waterston, Mads Mikkelsen and Jude Law as the titular Albus Dumbledore, who becomes the beloved headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The first in the series, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” started strong with $75 million in 2016, while “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” premiered with $62.2 million in 2018. Internationally, “The Secrets of Dumbledore” earned $71.7 million last weekend for a global cumulative of $193.4 million.

“Recapturing the original ‘Harry Potter’ magic that began some 20 years ago in cinemas is a tall order,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “The ‘Fantastic Beasts’ franchise, while seeing diminishing returns with each successive installment, still has enough of a devoted fan base to conjure up respectable numbers particularly with international audiences, which have always provided the lion’s share of the box office for these films.”

Dergarabedian added that the true test for “Dumbledore” will be the second weekend.

Also, as Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. head of domestic distribution, pointed out, the films are just one part of the Wizarding World.

“It’s part of a bigger strategy for the Wizarding World, a bigger business that includes theme parks and stores and merchandising. It’s all about the totality of these pieces and not any one on their own,” Goldstein said. “There’s still a lot of public interest and a lot of fan interest.”

Plus, Warner Bros. is celebrating a big milestone for another film: “The Batman” crossed $750 million globally last weekend.

“It’s an enormous achievement,” Goldstein said.

Also new to theaters last week was Columbia Pictures’ “Father Stu,” which nabbed fifth place at the domestic box office with $5.7 million.

Helmed by director Rosalind Ross, “Father Stu” tells the true story of a boxer who becomes a priest after experiencing a medical setback. The religious sports drama — starring Mark Wahlberg, Jacki Weaver and Mel Gibson — posted a subpar 42% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Notably, A24’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once” ascended by 2% during its second weekend in wide release to claim fourth place at the domestic box office. After drawing rave reviews, the wacky sci-fi epic starring Michelle Yeoh added $6.2 million for a North American cumulative of $17.7 million.

Rounding out the top five last weekend were Paramount Pictures’ “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” which collected $30 million in its second weekend for a North American cumulative of $119.6 million; and Paramount’s “The Lost City,” which made $6.5 million in its fourth weekend for a North American cumulative of $78.6 million.

Year-to-date box office sales have quintupled, to about $1.73 billion, from the year-earlier period, Comscore reported.

Opening in wide release this weekend is Universal Pictures’ animated comedy “The Bad Guys” and Lionsgate’s crime comedy “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.”

Jude Law plays a middle-aged Dumbledore in “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” which came in at No. 1 last weekend, earning $43 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters.