Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Beats Fantastic Beasts 3 at Monday Box Office

Only a few days after its release, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is seeing some defeats a the box office, as Deadline reports that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 took home a bigger total at Monday's screenings. The outlet notes that the Sonic sequel took home $4.5 million while the latest entry in the Fantastic Beasts series took in $3.68 million. However, with many schools across the country closed in honor of Easter Monday, it would seem likely that the PG-rated movie would fare better than the PG-13 Fantastic Beasts, potentially making it less of an appeal for family outings.

After just under two weeks in theaters, the Sonic sequel sits at $231.1 million worldwide while Fantastic Beasts, while having only been in U.S. theaters for four days, has a worldwide total of $192.9 million. While Fantastic Beasts will likely end up besting Sonic with its total earnings in the coming weeks, knowing that it is the latest entry in the beloved Wizarding World franchise means its totals will still likely fall far short of its predecessors.

In its brief theatrical run, The Secrets of Dumbledore is earning the lowest box-office returns in the franchise, which doesn't bode well for the franchise's future. While the critical reactions to this latest film are more promising than its predecessor, they still only sit at 49% positive according to aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. 

According to recent reports, Warner Bros. might end up reevaluating what the future for the franchise could be, or potentially what its future won't be.

The initial plan for this Fantastic Beasts series was to tell a story over the course of five films, with this recent entry earning delays largely due to the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the notoriety of the franchise, the next two installments might earn some changes.

Variety pointed out earlier this month, "There's speculation about whether or not Fantastic Beasts will complete its ambitions as a five-film franchise. At the moment, there's no screenplay for a fourth installment, sources have confirmed. Executives at Warner Bros. are waiting to see how The Secrets of Dumbledore is received before giving films four and five the greenlight."

If the film continues to underperform financially, it's entirely possible the planned two films could be combined into one, or the series could pivot to create content on HBO Max.

Stay tuned for details on the future of the Sonic and Fantastic Beasts franchises.

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