(Bloomberg) -- “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” a sequel from the world of Harry Potter, topped the weekend box office in North America, extending a strong year for Warner Bros.

  • “Grindelwald” -- the second of five expected movies from the “Fantastic Beasts” series -- took in $62.2 million in ticket sales, according to Comscore Inc., in line with the forecast of about $63 million by Box Office Pro.

Key Insights

  • The strong opening demonstrates the staying power of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter universe -- a key franchise for AT&T Inc.’s Warner Bros. The first “Fantastic Beasts” movie, which also features Eddie Redmayne in the lead role, generated $74.4 million over its opening weekend in 2016.
  • The film cost the studio $200 million, before marketing costs, more than the $180 million spent on the previous movie, according to Box Office Mojo. With such a steep budget, the movie will need to lean on international sales to break even at the box office.
  • Paramount Pictures’ “Instant Family,” one of the weekend’s other debuts, generated $14.7 million and placed fourth. That was a bit ahead of the forecast of $14 million by Box Office Pro. The comedy, starring Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne, got mixed reviews.
  • 20th Century Fox’s heist movie “Widows,” from Oscar nominated director Steve McQueen, placed fifth with $12.3 million, in line with Box Office Pro’s $12 million forecast. It scored better with critics, with 91 percent recommending the movie on Rotten Tomatoes, and has been cited as a possible Oscar contender

Get More

  • See weekend box-office statistics from Box Office Mojo.
  • See Rotten Tomatoes ratings for top movies.

To contact the reporters on this story: Anousha Sakoui in Los Angeles at asakoui@bloomberg.net;Brian Eckhouse in New York at beckhouse@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Kevin Miller

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