Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will be the first Harry Potter spinoff to be released since the film series came to an end in 2011. The adventures of the spinoff will continue for at least four more films as Warner Bros announced that Fantastic Beasts will be part one of a five-part series. Announcements like those are not entirely uncommon as studios have a tendency to confirm sequels and larger franchises based on how the film is testing.

Another good measurement of success is how well the film tracks, and according to new reports, the Harry Potter-spinoff is on course to have a $75 million opening in the US. Check out the full story below.

The Hollywood Reporter was the first to confirm the news.

Fantastic Beasts is set to open just days before Thanksgiving. Four of the eight Harry Potter films actually opened near the Thanksgiving weekend. The Sorcerer’s Stone opened to a $90.2 million in 2001; Chamber of Secrets had a $88.3 million opening in 2002; The Goblet of Fire earned $102.6 in its opening weekend in 2005; and The Deathly Hallows Part 1 had a $125 opening in 2010. Now, a $75 million opening is well short of the other four in their respective years, and some are even saying Fantastic Beasts could earn as low as $70 million in its weekend opening.

According to the report, the slightly disappointing numbers are due to the fact that the film has not been tested properly, therefore the numbers could be better, considering the studio announced there would be four more Fantastic Beasts sequels. Not only that but there is still plenty of time for the marketing team to amp up their campaign as they get closer to the release. Plus, there is a chance the film could earn some extra cash with good word of mouth.

Fantastic Beasts is based on the works of Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), who travels to New York for a brief vacation before heading off to find and document extraordinary creatures. His work would eventually become a textbook used at Hogwarts.

Here’s the official plot synopsis:

There are growing dangers in the wizarding world of 1926 New York. Something mysterious is leaving a path of destruction in the streets, threatening to expose the wizarding community to the Second Salemers, a fanatical faction of No-Majs (American for Muggles) bent on eradicating them. And the powerful, dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, after wreaking havoc in Europe, has slipped away”¦and is now nowhere to be found.

Unaware of the rising tensions, Newt Scamander arrives in the city nearing the end of a global excursion to research and rescue magical creatures, some of which are safeguarded in the hidden dimensions of his deceptively nondescript leather case. But potential disaster strikes when unsuspecting No-Maj Jacob Kowalski inadvertently lets some of Newt’s beasts loose in a city already on edge””a serious breach of the Statute of Secrecy that former Auror Tina Goldstein jumps on, seeing her chance to regain her post. However, things take an ominous turn when Percival Graves, the enigmatic Director of Magical Security at MACUSA (Magical Congress of the USA), casts his suspicions on both Newt”¦and Tina.

Now allied, Newt and Tina, together with Tina’s sister, Queenie, and their new No-Maj friend, Jacob, form a band of unlikely heroes, who must recover Newt’s missing beasts before they come to harm. But the stakes are higher than these four outsiders””now branded fugitives””ever imagined, as their mission puts them on a collision course with dark forces that could push the wizarding and No-Maj worlds to the brink of war.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will be released in theaters on November 18.

[Source: The Hollywood Reporter]