Weekend Box Office Report: November 18-20, 2016

Fantastic Beasts are found in first place!

Audiences were clearly interested in learning the location of magical creatures this weekend, putting FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM at number one with an estimated $75 million!

The spinoff of author J.K. Rowling's beloved HARRY POTTER series got a lower domestic start than anything in the "Wizarding World" franchise (THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX was the weakest with $77.1 million, while on the opposite end of the spectrum, THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2 conjured a whopping $169 million opening).

The PG-13 prequel from four-time HARRY POTTER director David Yates is intended to be the first in a series of five movies and cost a reported $180 million. FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM has collected an additional $143.3 million from international crowds.

The Eddie Redmayne-fronted fantasy had most critics happy to join Newt Scamander's global quest, giving the movie a 76% average on Rotten Tomatoes. The JoBlo review can be read HERE.

Rowling's latest magic-wielding characters knocked Marvel's own sorcerer down a notch as DOCTOR STRANGE jumped to the dimension of second place with $17.6 million after two weekends on top.

With a domestic total of $181.5 million and a worldwide total of $571 million, Benedict Cumberbatch's master of mystical arts has now surpassed the final box office results of fellow Marvel Cinematic Universe hero origin stories THOR, ANT-MAN and CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER.

In third place was the multicolored musical TROLLS with $17.5 million. After three weekends, the DreamWorks animated comedy has a domestic total of $116 million and is at $261.3 million worldwide.

The extraterrestrial thriller ARRIVAL landed in fourth with $11.8 million, descending 51% from its opening last week. The Denis Villeneuve-directed sci-fi movie has a ten-day domestic total of $43.3 million.

The R-rated WWII melodrama HACKSAW RIDGE was in fifth with $6.7 million. Director Mel Gibson's brutal biopic of pacifist medic Desmond Doss has a domestic total of $42.8 million after three weekends in release (it cost a reported $40 million).

Opening in seventh place was THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN with $4.8 million. The R-rated comedy-drama with Hailee Steinfeld and Woody Harrelson cost a reported $9 million and drew praise from critics with 95% on Rotten Tomatoes (the JoBlo review is HERE).

The new biographical boxing drama BLEED FOR THIS got pummeled in eighth place with an opening of $2.3 million. The story of real-life fighter Vinny “The Pazmanian Devil” Pazienza (played by Miles Teller) only cost a reported $6 million to make, and took a few shots from critics with 63% on Rotten Tomatoes. You can check out the JoBlo review HERE.

Ben Affleck's action-drama THE ACCOUNTANT was in ninth place with $2.1 million, managing to hang in the Top 10 after a month and a half in theaters. The Naomi Watts thriller SHUT IN was at the bottom with $1.6 million (and still at a tragic 0% critical average on Rotten Tomatoes).

Outside the chart, Tom Hanks' INFERNO was snuffed and Tom Cruise's JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK limped away with a lower domestic total than Tyler Perry's BOO! A MADEA HALLOWEEN. In limited release, the Casey Affleck drama MANCHESTER BY THE SEA started with a robust $60k per-screen average, while the Jake Gyllenhaal/Amy Adams thriller NOCTURNAL ANIMALS was released on 37 screens for $494k.

For next week's Thanksgiving holiday, Wednesday openings include Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson getting animated in Disney's MOANA, Billy Bob Thornton spreading more Christmas misery in BAD SANTA 2, Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard going behind enemy lines in ALLIED, and Warren Beatty portraying Howard Hughes in RULES DON'T APPLY, while Friday gives us Jessica Chastain in the political thriller MISS SLOANE.

Who is your favorite character from the Harry Potter movies? VOTE HERE!