Forthcoming, magical prequel/sequel Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is on track for a spellbinding time at the international box office.

The feature, which has been directed by Potter stalwart David Yates and penned by series’ creator JK Rowling, looks poised to potentially score a $65 million domestic debut, though some experts are placing the opening weekend figure closer to $75 million. If those higher estimates hold true, it would put the feature on par with its predecessor, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them ($74 million), which went on to garner $814 million worldwide. The Crimes of Grindelwald is hoping for a higher overall, however, carrying a budget of $200 million compared to the first film’s $175 million.

Globally, the film is on track to take in $250 million in its opening weekend, but that figure could suffer due to a harsher critical reception this time around; The Crimes of Grindelwald currently sits at a 54% on Rotten Tomatoes, and holds a 57 MetaScore, with many critcs decrying the feature as “cluttered“, “unsatisfying“, and “sleep-inducing“.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is in UK cinemas from tomorrow, starring Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, and Johnny Depp, and is rated 12A.

Evidently, early November isn’t too soon to start celebrating Christmas, as The Grinch opened to a domestic cume of $66 million.

Internationally, the animated family comedy pulled in a further $12.7 million, for a global start of $78.7 million. Those numbers may not seem over the top, but they do mark the highest opening for a Christmas film of all time, and given the traditionally long theatrical runs of yuletide flicks, Illumination could be looking at a serious moneymaker in the coming weeks.

Elsewhere, Venom opened incredibly strong in the middle kingdom this weekend, with a frankly ridiculous $111 million debut in China.

Not only is that an absolutely ludicrous figure (more than enough to keep The Grinch off the worldwide top spot), and over the $100 million price tag that the flick cost to make, but it also makes it the second-highest opening for a superhero movie ever in the country – behind only Avengers: Infinity War. The film’s wild over-performance means that Venom has now passed $673.5 million worldwide, and looks set to comfortably eke past the $700 million mark.

Still holding on elsewhere, Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody drew in a further $63.1 million, taking its international score up to a cool $285 million. Also carrying over from last week, Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms managed to rustle together another $13.5 million internationally. The holiday feature was dead on arrival in the US, where it’s scarcely managed to pass $35 million. The costly fantasy adventure carries a $125 million price tag, and has scored just $96.7 million globally.

Next week will see the release of Harry Potter prequel Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, due out on the 16th of November.

The Grinch, Universal and Illumination’s latest animated feature together, is on track to score between $55 million and $65 million when it opens in the US this weekend.

The family comedy is expected to blow both The Girl In the Spider’s Web and Overlord, the other two newcomers hitting screens alongside it, well out of the water.

An adaptation of the classic Dr. Seuss storybook, from Despicable Me studio Illumination, The Grinch will star Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular miserable curmudgeon who detests the holiday season. Joining Cumberbatch in the voice cast are Parks and Recreation’s Rashida Jones, SNL’s Kenan Thompson, Beauty and the Beast’s Angela Lansbury, and hip-hop star Pharrell Williams as the narrator.

The Grinch releases in UK cinemas from this Friday, and is rated U.