Warner Bros. can breathe a sigh of relief. Where to find “Fantastic Beasts” ?” All over the world. The new Harry Potter movie (number 1 of five prequels) has pocketed $218 million worldwide in one weekend. The US take is $75 million. And off we go! Eddie Redmayne is now very, very, very rich, and the rest of the cast is sitting pretty. Warners has a new franchise that will last them more than a decade.
Two potential Oscar nominees– “Manchester by the Sea” and “Nocturnal Animals”–did very well in limited openings. They’ll build as awards season begins and people become more aware of them. “Manchester” in particular is a possible Best Picture winner. “Bleed for This” also had a very good opening.
On the losing side, “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” has walked right off a plank for Sony. Add that to “Inferno” and a serious situation bubbles up. Recently the Hollywood trades revved up stories criticizing Tom Rothman, head of the studio. Executives and filmmakers are talking openly about him in unpleasant ways. This is highly unusual. Things are getting rough over there. “Billy Lynn” is just a mess.
As I noted yesterday, “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back” proved all too true. It’s RIP at less than $60 million. Paramount can just amortize it into “Mission Impossible” and no one will be the wiser.
