Why ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Should Be a Monster Box Office Hit in China

At first glance, the new Harry Potter prequel “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” hardly seems tailor-made for Chinese audiences, especially given its elements of witchcraft and the supernatural — which can be a deal breaker for China’s state censors.

[...] nearly 20 million people have purchased Chinese versions of J.K. Rowling’s novels about the boy wizard since they were first available across the Pacific 16 years ago.

[...] hordes of adoring fans propelled the last Harry Potter film, 2011’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,” to $60.8 million at the Chinese box office, back when the country’s total theatrical gross was about $2 billion.

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” the eighth book in the series — and a script for a London stage play — quickly sold out its initial 300,000 copy print run when it became available for preorder in China in late September.

Rowling’s novels showed up at a time when Chinese children’s literature was relatively underdeveloped — and wound up building a fan base of all ages.

China’s movie audience skews younger than North America’s, which has helped propel relatively kid-friendly fare like “Zootopia” to $236 million at the Chinese box office.

“Harry Potter” has fans of all ages, but its widespread appeal — and years of anticipation — should only help get Chinese fans to the theater in a country where the average person still sees about one movie a year.

[...] it’s not just Warner Bros. counting on a schoolboy wizard to boost fortunes: one of its main film competitors is also banking on Harry Potter as it tries to distinguish itself in China’s increasingly competitive amusement park sector.

[...] Dalian Wanda Group, the aggressive media conglomerate owned by China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin, announced plans to spend $15 billion on a new theme park and several malls.