It would be an ignominious end to one of the most popular, beloved, and commercially successful franchises in the history of cinema were Warner Bros. to pull the plug on the Wizarding World and end the Fantastic Beasts prequels with 40% of the planned five-film saga still to go.
And yet, that’s the question that’s been asked since well before The Secrets of Dumbledore hit theaters a few weeks back. The latest adventure for Newt Scamander may have scored marginally better reviews than derided predecessor The Secrets of Grindelwald, but the downward trajectory has remained in play as audiences continue to turn their back on the series in alarming numbers.
Domestically, Fantastic Beasts 3‘s goose is already cooked after it fell off the top of the charts after just three days in release, before suffering two consecutive steep drops. However, international crowds are evidently still pulling to see the story of Dumbledore and Grindelwald brought to a close, with overseas takings having pushed the film past the $300 million barrier.
Sure, that’s a long way away from the $400-450 million that was being projected this time last month, and it may not even come close to those numbers, but you get the distinct feeling that the studio isn’t going to abandon Fantastic Beasts unless it really has to.
The fourth entry may not have a title, a screenplay, or even a green light to begin gearing up for production, but that uncertainty should hopefully be cleared up in the coming weeks and months.