Fantastic Beasts Finds $75M

Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them cast a spell over audiences, reports the AP, summoning $75 million according to studio estimates Sunday and unseating Doctor Strange from the top spot. The success of the JK Rowling creation is a promising kick-off for the planned five-film franchise, but it didn't leave much room for other wide releases to find their footing this weekend. Doctor Strange, meanwhile, hit $570 million in its global tally, notes the Hollywood Reporter, and will soon overtake Iron Man.

Ang Lee's ambitious wartime drama Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk tanked in its expansion from four to 1,176 theaters with a mere $930,000. The film cost a reported $40 million to produce. Other more modestly budgeted films also struggled, including the R-rated high school comedy The Edge of Seventeen, which earned $4.8 million, and the boxing drama Bleed for This, which took in $2.4 million. (More box office stories.)