Warner Enjoys Box-Office Dominance with Back-to-Back Hits ‘The Batman,’ ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’

“The Batman” shattered records in March.  Then, “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” scored a magical $193.4-M over the weekend, worldwide. 

And just like that, Warner Bros. Pictures is enjoying its best box-office season in years, with no signs of slowing down.

While receipts for the latest “Fantastic Beasts” movie are still coming in, Warner is celebrating the triumph of “The Batman” which has flown past $750-M at the global box office.  The film has maintained its top spot as the highest-grossing film of the year, both in the U.S. and worldwide.

Earning widespread praise from critics and audiences alike, director Matt Reeves’s powerful new vision of the globally iconic DC Super Hero has taken in $365 million in U.S. receipts and $386 million internationally, and is still going strong.

In the Philippines, “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” likewise opened at No.1 for the two-day April 16-17 frame, capturing a market share of 63%. Together with “The Batman” which is still playing in local theaters, Warner is dominating the market with an over-all 68% share for the same period.

“We couldn’t have started the year better,” said Francis Soliven, General Manager of Warner Bros. Philippines. “`The Batman’ and the new `Fantastic Beasts’ are consecutive blockbusters for Warner this early in 2022, and we owe it to the local moviegoers who, despite the challenges, have trooped back to the theaters.”

For the rest of 2022, Warner is betting on Baz Luhrmann’s epic musical “Elvis,” the animated superhero comedy “DC League of Super-Pets,” the horror-thriller “Salem’s Lot,” the psychological thriller “Don’t Worry, Darling” and the superhero tentpoles “Black Adam” and “Shazam: Fury of the Gods.”

Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” is the newest adventure in the Wizarding World™ created by J.K. Rowling.

Professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) knows the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) is moving to seize control of the wizarding world.  Unable to stop him alone, he entrusts Magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) to lead an intrepid team of wizards, witches and one brave Muggle baker on a dangerous mission, where they encounter old and new beasts and clash with Grindelwald’s growing legion of followers.  But with the stakes so high, how long can Dumbledore remain on the sidelines?

The film features an ensemble cast led by Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne (“The Theory of Everything”), two-time Oscar nominee Jude Law (“Cold Mountain,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley”), Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Callum Turner, Jessica Williams, Katherine Waterston, and Mads Mikkelsen.

“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” was directed by David Yates, from a screenplay by J.K. Rowling & Steve Kloves, based upon a screenplay by J.K. Rowling.  The film was produced by David Heyman, J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves, Lionel Wigram and Tim Lewis.  Neil Blair, Danny Cohen, Josh Berger, Courtenay Valenti and Michael Sharp served as executive producers.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Heyday Films Production, a David Yates film, “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” now playing in Philippine theaters.  The film is distributed worldwide in select theatres and IMAX by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Join the conversation online and use the hashtag #SecretsOfDumbledore

(ROHN ROMULO)