Wizards of the world, rejoice! The latest entry in the Fantastic Beasts series is heading to HBO Max very soon.
Having released exclusively in theaters back in April, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is now scheduled to hit HBO Max on May 30, Warner Bros. has confirmed.
The third instalment in the titular franchise – and the eleventh film to be set in the fictional Wizarding World – The Secrets of Dumbledore sees Eddie Redmayne reprise his role as Newt Scamander, the young Magizoologist tasked with digging deeper into the chequered past of Jude Law’s famous wizard.
As well as reuniting seasoned Harry Potter director David Yates with producers David Heyman, J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves, Lionel Wigram and Tim Lewis – all of whom collaborated on the previous two films in the Fantastic Beasts series – the movie also gives audiences their first look at Mads Mikkelsen’s take on the menacing Gellert Grindelwald.
The Danish actor was chosen to replace Johnny Depp in the role following unrelated legal action against the latter last year, though the character maintains the same ambitions – and the same creepy white iris – to wreak havoc on the Wizarding World.
It may come as a surprise to see Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore heading to HBO Max so soon, given that the movie only arrived in theaters little more than a month ago, but the streaming service has maintained a fairly consistent on-demand release pattern throughout the year.
The Batman, for instance, came to HBO Max just 45 days after its theatrical debut, despite the movie soaring at the global box office in its initial weeks of release. Warner Bros’ generous approach does, however, seem to be paying off with subscribers – the service recently passed yet another major streaming milestone to increase its standing alongside Netflix and Disney Plus.
Analysis: Not-so-Fantastic Beasts
As above, then, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore isn’t heading to HBO Max so soon because it performed badly at the box office – but the fact remains that it did.
The series’ third entry scored a franchise-low $376 million during its time in theaters (for comparison, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them took home an almighty $812 million), a lowly haul that could spell the end for this particular incarnation of the Wizarding World.
Regardless of the movie’s poor performance, though, Fantastic Beasts as a property has grown into something of an untamable beast for Warner Bros. in recent years. High-profile controversies involving producer J.K. Rowling and actor Ezra Miller – in addition to the aforementioned situation regarding Johnny Depp – have left a sour taste in the mouth of longtime Harry Potter fans, and it’s hard to imagine a fourth movie earning the green light.
According to Variety back in April, Warner Bros. was said to be waiting on the commercial performance of The Secrets of Dumbledore before making a call on the series’ future. Given all of the above, then, it doesn’t seem likely that the five-film Fantastic Beasts project will come full circle.
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