Fantastic Beasts Hits Major Box Office Milestone

The Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them continues to soar. Warner Bros. has announced that the magical movie has now passed $500 million at the global box office, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

It's made $161 million in the United States and $344 million internationally for a grand total of $505 million. The movie premiered in the US on November 18, opening to No. 1 with $74.4 million before dropping just 39.4 percent for its second weekend, where it made $45.1 million.

Fantastic Beasts opened in China just last weekend, where it made $41.1 million. That was a notable achievement, as it topped Disney's Moana in the country. The film had a reported budget of $180 million, which does not include marketing.

With a domestic haul of $161 million, Fantastic Beasts becomes the 11th biggest movie of 2016. It needs only $1 million more to pass Jason Bourne ($162) to move into the No. 10 position.

Warner Bros. is planning four more Fantastic Beasts films, the next of which is slated for 2018. The Paris-set movie will film will feature Dumbledore and Grindelwald, the latter character being played by Johnny Depp. No announcements have been made about who will play Dumbledore. Star Eddie Redmayne, who plays the magizoologist Newt Scamander, is also on board for the sequel.

Fantastic Beasts was directed by Harry Potter alum David Yates. He is reportedly signed on for the sequel, but it remains to be seen if he will direct all five films.