Box Office: ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Scores $6.9 Million on First Day of Foreign Release
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” racked up $6.9 million overseas in its first day of international release.
The film is set in the world of “Harry Potter,” but has a new cast of wizards and magical creatures. Warner Bros. anticipates that the fantasy adventure could make $200 million globally this weekend with roughly $75 million of that coming from North American audiences.
“Fantastic Beasts” carries a $180 million price tag. It stars Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, a magic textbook author who loses a series of mythical beasts in 1920s New York City. The cast boasts Colin Farrell, Dan Fogler, Katherine Waterston, and Samantha Morton. “Harry Potter” creator J.K. Rowling wrote the screenplay for the film. David Yates, who directed several “Potter” sequels, slid behind the camera for the spinoff.
“Fantastic Beasts” opened in nine international markets on Wednesday and showed on 5,070 screens. It scored a first-place finish in every territory, including a $1.8 million bow in France, a $1.7 million debut in South Korea, and $480,000 from Indonesia. “Fantastic Beasts” will open in 38 more markets on Thursday, including Germany, Italy, and Australia, followed by 16 markets on Friday, including the U.K. and Mexico.
The major remaining markets are China and Japan, which open the following week.
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