
were waiting to see the reception toward “The Secrets of Dumbledore” before pumping resources into the final chapters in the magical saga. There wasn’t yet a screenplay for the fourth or fifth entry by April 2022, when the third “Fantastic Beasts” movie opened in theaters.

Ticket sales were down 20% from 2016’s “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” which grossed more than $800 million globally.

Though the second installment, 2018’s “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” didn’t entirely sputter with $654 million at the worldwide box office, its rocky performance put the future of Newt Scamander - the protagonist played by Eddie Redmayne - and company in question.
