Harry Potter's franchise expansion 'only just starting', says Warner Bros

Harry Potter’s franchise expansion is “only just starting”, says Warner Bros as it looks to the future of the franchise.

There’s little denying that the Harry Potter movie franchise is one of Warner Bros’ most profitable franchises, and following the launch of Hogwarts Legacy, the Wizarding World only looks to become more profitable.

However, perhaps the same cannot be said for Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald. It was reported by Variety in April 2022 that grossing $650 million at the worldwide box office, it was a 20% drop from the first movie released in 2016.

Thankfully, Warner Bros will no doubt be hoping that Hogwarts Legacy will inject a heavy dose of magic that Crimes of Grindelwald seemingly lost. As reported by GamesRadar via (Variety), Warner Bros seem to be pinning a lot of hopes on Hogwarts Legacy expanding Wizarding World.

When speaking during a panel at Morgan Stanley’s investor conference, Warner Bros. CFO, Gunnar Wiedenfels suggested that Hogwarts Legacy “show’s there is so much opportunity” to expand the franchise.

“We've got the new Harry Potter tour coming up in Tokyo in the middle of the year," Wiedenfels continued. “Long story short, I think this one-company approach, great leadership in the individual business units, but coordinated franchise management is probably one of the biggest opportunities the company has.”

What’s more, WB Games president David Haddad told Variety: “Our goal is to continue to utilise our amazing library of Warner Bros. Discovery franchises as we develop our future slate of games.”

In other Hogwarts Legacy news, the PS4 and Xbox One versions have been delayed even further and fans have been roasting the game following the disappointing news.

Hogwarts Legacy is out now for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. It will then release for PS4 and Xbox One on 5 May 2023, followed by the Nintendo Switch on 25 July.