Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald may not live up to its predecessor, but it's still performing quite strongly with a strong $253 million global launch. Plus, Venom continues to kill it in China.

Despite being the worst reviewed film in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter franchise, audiences all over the globe are still flocking as fast as they can to catch Warner Bros.' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, which has enchanted its way to a strong $253.2 million worldwide opening ($62.2M domestic; $191M foreign).



The David Yates-directed sequel, which earned a B+ CinemaScore, is pacing about 16% behind its predecessor that opened to $74.4 million stateside back in 2016. However, while the domestic numbers may be down, the follow-up is outperforming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by at least 2% overseas, topping the original's $187 million international

haul

.



Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was one of the leggiest films of 2016, opening with $219.9 million worldwide before finishing its box office run with $814 million, so there's plenty of reason to believe The Crimes of Grindelwald can and will perform similarly with a comparable leggy run through winter, although the reviews and word-of-mouth may play a bigger factor than nostalgia this time around.



Meanwhile, Sony's Venom continues to absolutely dominate the China box office, finishing in first place for the second week in a row with $51.2 million, taking its 10-day total to a monumental $207.1 million. Its worldwide cume now stands

at

$780 million ($210M domestic; $570.5M foreign), making it the sixth-highest grossing film of the year and the third-biggest superhero movie ever in China, behind only Avengers: Infinity War ($359.5M) and Avengers: Age of Ultron ($240.1M).



The Tom Hardy-

starrer

is expected to top $800 million within the next few days and is on track for a finish in the $850 million range. It recently topped the likes of Captain America: The Winter Soldier (714.2M), Deadpool 2 ($734.2M), Suicide Squad ($746.8M), X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Guardians of the Galaxy ($773.3M); and is widely expected to top Deadpool ($783.1M), Spider-Man 2 ($783.7M), Spider-Man ($821.7M), and Wonder Woman ($821.8M) before all is said and done.

At the end of the first film, the powerful dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald was captured by MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America), with the help of Newt Scamander. But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escaped custody and has set about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise wizards and witches up to rule over all non-magical beings.



In an effort to thwart Grindelwald's plans, Albus Dumbledore enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.





