Warner Bros. Discovery says the company is open to creating more Harry Potter JK Rowling’s projects. Originally written as a series of seven books by Rowling, Harry Potter franchise has skyrocketed in recent decades to become one of the most profitable media franchises of all time. The book series spawned eight films, a spin-off film series, a two-part play, and more. The most recent addition to the Harry Potter franchise was the movie Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledorewhich premiered in April 2022.
While the seven Harry Potter novels and eight adapted films were a huge worldwide success, all has not gone well in the Wizarding World. The spin-off film series Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, starring Eddie Redmayne and Jude Law, has a history of poor performance and critical reception. To date, Dumbledore’s Secrets box office holds the title of lowest opening of all Harry Potter film, collecting $42.2 million domestically during its first weekend. While this was still enough to debut at #1, the other two films in the series opened for $74.4 million and $62.1 million in the US, and all three are among the openings of any feature film. Harry Potter entry. The most prominent problem with the Harry Potter franchise, however, the controversy surrounding the author. Rowling has spoken out about views labeled as transphobic and has openly supported and donated to causes that harm the transgender community. many old ones Harry Potter fans have left the franchise due to the ongoing controversy, and even franchise star Daniel Radcliffe has spoken out against Rowling’s comments.
Despite Rowling’s controversy and Fantastic animals‘ poor performance, David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, says there is potential to do more Harry Potter projects with the collaboration of the author. At the company’s earnings meeting (via Variety), Zaslav mentions his interest in doing “something with JK on Harry Potter in the future” stating how much profit the Harry Potter franchise has generated for Warner Bros. in the past 25 years. Read Zaslav’s full comment below:
We’re really going to focus on franchises. We haven’t had a ‘Superman’ movie in 13 years. We haven’t made a ‘Harry Potter’ movie in 15 years. The DC films and the ‘Harry Potter’ films have been a major contributor to Warner Bros.’s profits for the past 25 years. Motion Pictures. So a focus on the franchise – one of the great perks we have, ‘House of the Dragon’ is an example of that, ‘Game of Thrones’, using ‘Sex and the City’, ‘Lord of the Rings, ” we still have the right to make ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies. What are the movies with brands that are understood and loved all over the world?
Should Warner Bros. Leave Harry Potter alone?
although Harry Potter is one of the most profitable franchises in history, its newest additions underperforming the original series of books and movies. Many critics are quick to point out the Fantastic animals movies as redundant and boring versions of the original movies, but with the wider Harry Potter franchise that currently has nearly $10 billion at the box office, Zaslav is right when he praises how much money the films have made for the studio. It is currently unclear what kind Harry Potter projects WBD looks, with the fate of the Fantastic animals series in limbo na Dumbledore’s Secretspoor performance.
Although the relative failure of Fantastic animals is definitely something for Warner Bros. to keep in mind when looking for new ones HP projects, it’s not bad writing or actor issues that most negatively affect the franchise – it’s Rowling’s divisive and controversial comments. Even if the studio has a brand new, exciting Harry Potter project, Rowling’s anti-trans commentary has cost the franchise many loyal fans, who no longer want to support her work. With no clear plans yet, however, it remains to be seen whether Warner Bros. Discovery will take a chance on another one Harry Potter project with Rowling at the helm.
Source: Variety
