Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 smashes boxoffice records
The final Harry Potter film was set to smash box office records on both sides of the Atlantic this weekend after reports that US ticket sales on Friday were the biggest in the history of Hollywood.
In the final, climactic confrontation between the forces of good and evil in the world of wizardry, there was already one clear victor
– the studio, Warner Bros.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
opened just after midnight on Friday in both
Britain and America. It made more than £9
million in its first day in British cinemas,
easily eclipsing the previous record of £5.9
million made by the first instalment of
Deathly Hallows.
It will almost certainly overtake the British
record for an opening weekend – also held
by the first Deathly Hallows film, which
earned £18.3 million in its first three days
last November. The new film is expected to
make more than £20 million over its
opening weekend.
Deathly Hallows Part 2 is also on course to
surpass the British box office record set by
the film adaptation of the musical Mamma
Mia!, starring Meryl Streep, which made £69
million throughout its run.
In the US, the film took $43.5 million (£27
million) for midnight showings and an
estimated further $40 million during the day
on Friday.
That put the total one-day earnings at more
than $80 million, comfortably above the
previous US one-day record, set by Twilight
Saga: New Moon with $72 million.
Earnings were bolstered by higher ticket
prices for the movie's 3D version.
"Records will fly out of the window this
weekend," a studio executive said. "All 3D
theatres sold out to excellent reactions."
In the US, there were predictions that the
film – the eighth and last in the Harry Potter
series – would earn $180 million by tonight,
far exceeding the previous record for an
opening three-day weekend, held by Dark
Knight, the 2008 Batman movie, which
grossed $158 million.
Even before this phenomenal opening, the
first seven films based on the books by JK
Rowling were the largest-grossing franchise
in history, with worldwide box office
takings of $6.4 billion. The film's premiere in
London on July 7 drew crowds from around
the world, with fans queuing for more than
24 hours in the rain to catch a glimpse of
the film's stars, Daniel Radcliffe, a tearful
Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint (all pictured
above) at their final promotion of the
franchise.
Josh Berger, the president and managing
director of Warner Brothers UK, said: "This is
completely unchartered territory. The books
and films are so beloved and have such
broad appeal. Because this is the final
chapter, it seems to be attracting even more
fans than ever before."
