“Fantastic Beasts” soars to the top of foreign box office

PanARMENIAN.Net - “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” soared to the top of the foreign box office, fueled by hefty debuts in China and Japan. The Harry Potter spinoff picked up $132 million internationally, pushing its global haul to $473.7 million, Variety said.

China accounted for a sizable percentage of those revenues. “Fantastic Beasts” opened to $41.1 million from over 11,600 screens in the Middle Kingdom. That surpasses the totals of all previous Potter adventures in China, save for “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,” which made $60.8 million during its run. In Japan, “Fantastic Beasts” opened to $15.5 million from 966 screens.

“Fantastic Beasts” needs to do well globally, because it cost $180 million to produce and tens of millions more to market. The film stars Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, a collector of mystical creatures who inadvertently allows some of his beasts to escape into 1920s New York City. Warner Bros., the studio behind the film, plans to make four other films in the series, so hopes are high.

Disney’s “Moana” took second place, picking up $16.3 million to push the animated adventure’s global total to $97.4 million. The film centers on a Pacific Islands girl who journeys across the ocean with a demigod in order to break a curse. The film hasn’t opened in many major foreign territories except for China, where it made $12.3 million, coming in behind “Fantastic Beasts.” Next weekend brings openings in such significant markets as France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Russia, and Mexico.

Marvel’s “Doctor Strange” captured third place with $9.8 million to push its worldwide gross to $616 million. The comic-book adventure is the ninth Marvel release to cross the $600 million mark worldwide.

Paramount’s “Allied” and DreamWorks Animation’s “Trolls” rounded out the top five, earning $9.4 million and $7.2 million, respectively. “Allied,” a spy romance, has made $27.4 million globally, while “Trolls” has earned $291 million.