Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film)
A prequel spin-off set in the Wizarding World.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, released in 2016, is a fantasy film directed by David Yates and marks J. K. Rowling’s first screenplay. It kicks off the Fantastic Beasts series and is the ninth movie in the Wizarding World franchise, acting as both a spin-off and a prequel to the Harry Potter films. The story originates from a guidebook of the same name, which Rowling wrote under a pseudonym in 2001 to benefit Comic Relief. The cast includes Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Samantha Morton, Jon Voight, Carmen Ejogo, Ron Perlman, and Colin Farrell.
Warner Bros. first announced a new Wizarding World film series in September 2013, two years after the final Harry Potter movie hit theaters. The following month, it was confirmed that David Heyman and Steve Kloves—both veterans of the Potter franchise—would return as producer and writer, respectively. In August 2014, the studio revealed that Yates would direct at least one film in the planned trilogy, following rumors that Alfonso Cuarón might take the job, which Cuarón denied three months earlier. Filming ran from August 2015 to January 2016 at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden and on location in England.
The movie premiered at Alice Tully Hall in New York City on November 10, 2016, and hit theaters in the United States and United Kingdom on November 18, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Critics gave it generally positive reviews, and it earned $814 million worldwide, making it the eighth-highest-grossing film of 2016. At the 70th British Academy Film Awards, it received five nominations, including Best British Film, and won for Best Production Design. It also earned two nominations at the 89th Academy Awards, winning for Best Costume Design—the first Wizarding World film to take home an Oscar. Two sequels followed: *Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald* (2018) and *Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore* (2022).
**Plot**
In 1926, British magizoologist Newt Scamander lands in New York City. He notices Mary Lou Barebone, a non-magical woman (called a “No-Maj” in America), preaching that witches and wizards are real and dangerous. While chasing a Niffler that escapes his magical suitcase, Newt bumps into No-Maj Jacob Kowalski, an aspiring baker, and they accidentally swap suitcases. Porpentina “Tina” Goldstein, a demoted Auror for the Magical Congr
- release_year
- 2016
- director
- David Yates
- screenwriter
- J. K. Rowling
- genre
- Fantasy
- box_office
- $814 million worldwide
- academy_awards_won
- Best Costume Design
- series_position
- First instalment in the Fantastic Beasts film series
Lore & Background
The film follows British wizard and magizoologist Newt Scamander, who arrives in New York City in 1926. He accidentally swaps suitcases with No-Maj Jacob Kowalski, leading to the escape of several magical creatures. Newt, along with demoted Auror Tina Goldstein and her sister Queenie, works to recapture the creatures while facing opposition from Percival Graves, who is later revealed to be the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald in disguise. The plot also involves an Obscurial, a destructive parasite that develops in suppressed magical children, hosted by Credence Barebone.
Reader's Guide
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them marked the expansion of the Wizarding World beyond the Harry Potter series, introducing a new era and setting in 1920s New York. It was the first Wizarding World film to win an Academy Award, taking Best Costume Design at the 89th Academy Awards. The film received five nominations at the 70th British Academy Film Awards, including Best British Film, and won for Best Production Design. Commercially, it grossed $814 million worldwide, finishing as the eighth-highest-grossing film of 2016. The film launched a series that continued with two sequels: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022).
Did You Know?
- The film was J. K. Rowling's debut as a screenwriter.
- Nicholas Hoult was considered for the role of Newt Scamander before Eddie Redmayne was cast.
- Michael Cera was in talks to play Jacob Kowalski but passed on the role.
- The film won the first Academy Award for a Wizarding World film, for Best Costume Design.
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