Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film)
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a 2016 fantasy film directed by David Yates and written by J. K. Rowling. It is the first instalment in the Fantastic Beasts film series and the ninth overall in the Wizarding World franchise, serving as a spin-off of and prequel to the Harry Potter film series; it is inspired by the 2001 guide book of the same name by Rowling. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Samantha Morton, Jon Voight, Carmen Ejogo, Ron Perlman, Colin Farrell and Johnny Depp.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
- David Heyman
- J. K. Rowling
- Steve Kloves
- Lionel Wigram
Warner Bros. Pictures[1]
- 10 November 2016 (Alice Tully Hall)
- 18 November 2016 (United Kingdom and United States)
133 minutes[2]
English
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them premiered in New York City on 10 November 2016 and was released in cinemas worldwide on 18 November 2016 by Warner Bros. Pictures. It received generally positive reviews from critics and emerged a commercial success after grossing $814 million worldwide, making it the eighth highest-grossing film of 2016. The film was nominated for five British Academy Film Awards, including Best British Film, and won for Best Production Design. It was nominated for two Academy Awards and won for Best Costume Design, becoming the first Wizarding World film to win an Academy Award.[10] Two sequels have been released: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022).
Plot[edit]
In 1926, British wizard and "magizoologist" Newt Scamander arrives in New York City. He observes Mary Lou Barebone, the non-magical ("No-Maj" or "Muggle") head of the New Salem Philanthropic Society, preaching that witches and wizards are real and dangerous. Attempting to recapture a Niffler that escaped from his suitcase of magical creatures, Newt meets No-Maj Jacob Kowalski, an aspiring baker, and they unwittingly swap suitcases. Porpentina "Tina" Goldstein, a demoted Auror of the Magical Congress of the United States (MACUSA), arrests Newt for breaking magical law. Since the suitcase in his possession only contains Jacob's baked goods, Newt is released. At home, Jacob opens Newt's suitcase, inadvertently freeing several creatures into the city.
After Tina and Newt find Jacob and the suitcase, Tina takes them to her apartment and introduces them to Queenie, her Legilimens sister. Jacob and Queenie are mutually attracted, though American wizards are forbidden to have any contact with No-Majs. Newt takes Jacob inside his suitcase, magically expanded to house various creatures including an Obscurial, a parasite that develops inside magically gifted children when their abilities are suppressed; those afflicted rarely live past the age of ten.
After they recapture two of the three escaped beasts, Tina returns the suitcase to MACUSA, but they are arrested, as officials believe one of Newt's creatures is responsible for killing Senator Henry Shaw Jr., who was actually attacked by a different Obscurial. The Director of Magical Security, Percival Graves, accuses Newt of conspiring with the infamous dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, and decides to destroy Newt's suitcase and obliviate Jacob's recent memories. Newt and Tina are sentenced to death. Queenie senses this, rescues Jacob before his memory can be wiped, then helps Newt and Tina escape and retrieve Newt's suitcase. A tip from Tina's goblin informant Gnarlak leads the four to recapture the last of the escaped creatures.
Graves approaches Credence, Mary Lou's adult adopted son, and offers to free him from his abusive mother in exchange for helping to find the Obscurial causing destruction throughout the city. Credence finds a wand under his adopted sister Modesty's bed, which Mary Lou assumes is his; when Credence is about to be punished, the Obscurial kills Mary Lou and her eldest daughter Chastity. Graves, assuming Modesty is the Obscurial's host, dismisses Credence as a Squib and refuses to teach him magic as he had promised in return for service. Credence reveals he is the real host, having survived due to the intensity of his magic, and attacks the city in broad daylight.
Newt finds Credence hiding in a subway tunnel but is attacked by Graves. Tina, who had tried to protect Credence from Mary Lou (leading to her demotion), attempts to calm the boy, while Graves tries to convince Credence to listen to him. As Credence returns to human form, MACUSA President Seraphina Picquery and the Aurors counterattack, shattering the Obscurial. However, unseen by anyone but Newt, a single wisp of the creature flees the scene. Graves admits he had planned to unleash the Obscurial to expose the magical community to the No-Majs and then frame Newt for the incident. He claims MACUSA's laws openly protect No-Majs at the expense of the magical community, and he no longer cares to live in hiding. Picquery orders the Aurors to apprehend Graves, but he defeats them. Newt captures him with the help of one of his beasts and reveals that Graves is Grindelwald in disguise.
MACUSA fears their secret world has been exposed, but Newt releases his Thunderbird to disperse a potion that obliviates recent memories over the city as rainfall, while MACUSA wizards repair the destruction and erase all evidence of their existence. Queenie kisses Jacob goodbye as the rain erases his memories, and Newt returns to England. Jacob opens a bakery with pastries resembling Newt's beasts, and, when Queenie enters, he smiles at her.
Zoë Kravitz appears in a photograph as Leta Lestrange, Newt's former love who betrayed his trust, to set up her role in the sequel Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018).[28]
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is mentioned several times as a school textbook in the Harry Potter book series, with Scamander named as the author. In 2001, Rowling published an edition of the "textbook" to be sold to raise money for the British charity Comic Relief. The book is a directory of magical creatures with an introduction by its author, Newt Scamander. It does not contain a narrative.
First announced in September 2013 just two years after the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, the Fantastic Beasts project marked Rowling's debut as a screenwriter.[29] The film sees the return of producer David Heyman, as well as writer Steve Kloves, both veterans of the Potter film franchise.[30] There were rumors that Alfonso Cuarón would direct, which he refuted in May 2014.[31][32] Warner Bros. announced that David Yates would direct at least the first instalment of a planned trilogy.[33][34] James Newton Howard was brought on board to score the film.[35]
Filming[edit]
Principal photography began on 17 August 2015, at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden, in Hertfordshire, England and wrapped in January 2016.[20][19][36][37] Several scenes were shot on location in London.[38] After two months, the production moved to the Cunard Building and St George's Hall in Liverpool, which was transformed into 1920s New York City.[39] Framestore in London produced the visual effects for the film.[40]
Release[edit]
Theatrical[edit]
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them had its world premiere at Alice Tully Hall in New York City on 10 November 2016 and was released worldwide on 18 November 2016.[11][62]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them grossed $234 million in the United States and Canada and $580 million in other countries for a total of $814 million.[8] The film was made on a budget of $175 million, with an additional $150 million spent on marketing.[6][64] Worldwide, the film grossed $219.9 million during its opening weekend in around 64 markets on 24,200 screens, both the fifth-biggest in Rowling's wizarding cinematic universe, and the seventh-biggest for the month of November 2016.[7][65] IMAX totalled $15 million from 605 screens.[66] Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $164 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film, making it the ninth-most profitable release of 2016.[67]