Each of the Fantastic Beasts movies seems to end with the War Against Grindelwald about to start, only for the following movie to be about an event that preceded the war. Understandably, some fans wish the series would stop building it up and finally start portraying the war that has being teased since the original movie. Unfortunately, given that the series was put on hold indefinitely after the third movie it's looking unlikely we'll see the war against Grindelwald depicted on onscreen any time soon.
Likewise, the romance between Newt and Tina hasn't progressed at all since the original movie, compare it with Jacob and Queenie, who got separated 2 times and got married at the end of the third movie and is rather disappointing how Newt and Tina seem to still be at stage 1 despite being a Foregone Conclusion they will get together, not helped by Tina getting less and less screentime with each passing movie.
Credence. A lot of fans find him to be a boring Flat Character who constantly steals screentime from Newt, his friends, Grindelwald and the titular Fantastic Beasts and think his arc contradicts too much of the Dumbledore's family backstory. Other fans see him as a Tragic Hero with a heartbreaking character arc and the real protagonist of the series.
Many regard Tina as the most boring character of the main four, seeing her as nothing but a uninteresting Satellite Love Interest to Newt who lacks the depth or charm of the rest of the characters. However other fans regard her as a highlight of the franchise and find her Adorkable. This can be summarized with the reception towards the third movie where she got Demoted to Extra: half of the fanbase were pissed off and the other half didn't care.
Queenie was a fan-favorite during the original movie but her arc in the two sequels split the fanbase. Some understand the reasons behind her Heel–Face Turn and were glad when she decided to return with Jacob, while other fans thought it was really forced, think she fell into being Unintentionally Unsympathetic and felt she didn't do anything to deserve her redeemption.
Albus Dumbledore is already a major Base-Breaking Character and these movies didn't do him any favours. Some fans regard him as the most fascinating character of the sub-franchise and think the series does a great job at humanizing the franchise's Big Good, others see it as a blatant Spotlight-Stealing Squad that keeps distracting from Newt and the Fantastic Beasts and think that having him being still The Chessmaster so many years before the events of the original series makes him look even more like a Knight Templar than he was in the original books. Jude Law's performance however, has being praised.
One rather sticky point of contention is that American wizards do not use the term Muggles, instead opting for "No-Maj". Some fans prefer the term "Muggle" over proposed substitutes, while others contend that it sounds distinctly British and likely wouldn't be used overseas. Still others agree with the latter point but think that "No-Maj" is a weak alternative, arguing that even a shortening like "Mug" would have sounded more American and less clumsy than "No-Maj."
On the same note, the reveal that French wizards in the second movie use the word "Non-Magique" ("Non-Magical") rather than the established translation "Moldu" stirred up a lot of complaints from French fans. Some fans argue that "Moldus" was just a translation of "Muggle" anyway and that it makes more sense for French wizards to have their own word, whereas others would rather see the translation they grew up with be used, and point out that unlike the "No-Maj"/"Muggle" debate in which both terms still exist In-Universe, this would make "Non-Magique" the actual French equivalent of those terms, thus implying that "Moldus" was never a real word In-Universe to begin with. A third group is fine with "Moldu" not being used, but considers "Non-Magique" an especially unimaginative alternative, and would have preferred a term inspired by Latin or Germanic etymology.
Since the films' inception, J. K. Rowling has made a number of comments on Twitter and in interviews widely described as transphobic, not just insensitive but hostile, and TERFnote Trans Exclusive Radical Feminist. This has led to condemnation by a great number of fans and LGBTQ+ groups, and numerous discussions of boycotting all works she profits from. Other fans say they have divorced the creative works, which involve a large number of other creators, from the involvement of JKR in their hearts, and consider the inclusive messages of the Wizarding World to be more important than the sins of that world's creator.
Johnny Depp's casting as Gellert Grindelwald. Some (including J.K. Rowling herself) were happy with the choice and applauded him for being a great actor, but quite a few think he was all wrong compared to the way they imagined Grindelwald to be from his brief mentions in the books — the image of a handsome, sharp-dressed, silver-tongued man had crystalized so much in the fans' mind that they took the somewhat pudgy, soft-speaking Depp Grindelwald, especially with his extremely strange haircut and mustache, as a betrayal. Others don't especially dislike this version of the character, but think that as an American, he's the wrong fit for a continental European wizard. Also, a significant chunk of the fandom expressed horror not because of the performance but because of the highly publicized allegations of domestic abuse during Depp's divorce proceedings with Amber Heard in 2016note It should be noted that the first Fantastic Beasts film began shooting in 2015, before said allegations were made public. One admin on the Harry Potter Wiki even resigned over the wiki's inclusion of a Johnny Depp article, but has since rejoined. Many others simply felt Colin Farrell's portrayal was vastly better than Depp's Narmy scene at the end of the first film, and set up petitions demanding his return. It was toned down when his performance ended up being considered one of the best things about the second film. However, Depp was later forced to resign from the franchise during production of the third film after he lost his libel suit. He'd only been on set for two weeks at that point and had only completed one scene.
Mads Mikkelsen's tenure as Grindelwald is a point of contention too. Depp fans swore him off from the get-go, calling for a boycott of any future installment in the franchise. Once the film was released, Mikkelsen's performance was vastly well received, with many, if not most, considering it a substantial improvement over Depp's. However, in the wake of the Depp v. Heard defamation trial, some feel uncomfortable with praising Mikkelsen's performance due to the circumstances of the recast: the very different light the new developments have cast on the reasons that led to Depp's resignation have swayed the public opinion towards considering it unjust, thus marring Mikkelsen's stint in the role.
In an interesting case, the franchise even has a broken former fan base. Depp's departure led to widespread calls to boycott The Secrets of Dumbledore in solidarity with him; former fans who had already sworn off consuming Rowling's intellectual property in the wake of her transphobic statements were irked that a much vaster outcry was made in support of a single actor rather than a wider social cause, calling the new boycotters out on needing to sort out their priorities.
First Installment Wins: While the first movie had a largely positive reception upon release and seemed to launch the series on a promising note, the two sequels were much more contentious, and The Secrets of Dumbledore had a noticeably lower box office intake than its predecessors.
After J. K. Rowling provided new details of international wizarding schools in the lead-up to Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, she was accused of appropriating and misrepresenting the associated cultures. Most of this criticism regarded the film's American setting; aspects of several Native American cultures are mixed together and portrayed as Harry Potter-style magic.
The opposite controversy started brewing right after Depp's resignation, mostly from affectionate fans clamouring what was a termination in all but name was unjust and had a flimsy basis. In the months leading up to the Depp v. Heard defamation trial, with mounting evidence that Heard's claims could hold less water than perviously thought, or that she might have been the abusive spouse to begin with, the backlash gained traction, spreading even to those who were underwhelmed by Depp's performance and would welcome Mikkelsen in his stead. The highly publicised trial starting merely three days after the release of The Secrets of Dumbledore didn't help matters in the slightest. Ironically, as it turned out, it was Johnny Depp who was getting abused, not Amber Heard, he won the case and proved his innocence to the world, but Mikkelsen still replaced him and Heard would still act in a few other movies like the Aquaman sequel, even though she was clearly guilty. This, alongside the confusing narrative of the sequels and controversial tweets by JK Rowling, was one of the factors that led to boycotting Harry Potter and affected the Fantastic Beast films.
Ezra Miller's endless run ins with the law between 2020 and 2022 have led to a lot of calls for Warner Brothers to officially drop them from both this franchise and the DC film series and fire them, as Miller suffered from severe mental health problems and was involved in many cases of violent behavior, harassment and more, causing scandal after scandal. This was yet another thing that outraged fans, especially because those legal issues became public shortly before the release of The Secrets of Dumbledore, and it was another huge blow that killed the series half-way through.
Sacred Cow: Jacob Kowalski. While most elements of the series are open to at least some sort of Broken Base, most fans seem to draw the line at Jacob, is very hard if not impossible to find at least one fan even among the series' biggest detractors that doesn't like him.
Sequelitis: Or more specifically, prequelitis. While Fantastic Beasts has positive qualities and certainly has its fans, it's generally agreed the series isn't as good as the original Harry Potter series (both the books and film adaptations), mainly due to its unfocused and overly-convoluted plotlines, problems with inconsistent tone (while Harry Potter's earlier installments are much lighter and more whimsical compared to the later ones, the series gradually worked its way towards a darker tone, while Fantastic Beasts jarringly zig-zags between the two) and popular protagonist Newt Scamander getting sidelined by Dumbledore, Grindelwald and other characters following the first movie. Some fans also weren't keen on how the movies present the conflict between Grindelwald and Dumbledore, feeling it doesn't mesh well with the previously-established canon. It doesn't help that the series has been put on hold due to the third movie's box office underperformance and the overall mixed reception.
They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: The biggest complaint the series has are the titular fantastic beasts being out of focus or reduced to MacGuffins from the second film onwards for the conflict with Gellert Grindelwald, resulting in a series that cannot properly flesh out either topic as a result. Many wished that Fantastic Beasts and the Global Wizarding War were covered with their own respective series instead.
Uncertain Audience: More like "Uncertain Portion of the Fanbase You Wanna Pander to". One of the major criticisms against the franchise is that they seem unsure if they wanna be a Darker and Edgier series focused on the War Against Grindelwald and the nuanced conflict between him and Dumbledore akin to the tone of the latter books or if they wanna be a whimsical Lighter and Softer series focused on Newt and his friends travelling around the world and discovering the titular Fantastic Beasts akin to the tone of the earlier books. While both Newt and Grindelwald are beloved characters in the fanbase, most fans agree that they don't belong in the same story and it's a disservice to both characters trying to fit them together.
even resigned over the wiki's inclusion of a Johnny Depp article, but has since rejoined. Many others simply felt Colin Farrell's portrayal was vastly better than Depp's Narmy scene at the end of the first film, and set up petitions demanding his return. It was toned down when his performance ended up being considered one of the best things about the second film. However, Depp was later forced to resign from the franchise during production of the third film after he lost his libel suit. He'd only been on set for two weeks at that point and had only completed one scene.