'Harry Potter' Box Office Breaks Opening Weekend Record

Harry Potter box office numbers are more magical than ever this weekend. Deathly Hallows Part 2 may be ready to seize its biggest box office record yet as it takes aim at Batman. Given the massive buzz and rave reviews for Deathly Hallows Part 2 and its record breaking performances in its midnight screenings and opening day, The Dark Knight is no longer expected to have the biggest opening weekend of all time.

Deadline Hollywood had projected the last Potter film would make $180 million in its first three days. But this morning, the numbers went down a little bit, which may be the first case of the grand finale underperforming. However, the new projections put it at $163 million for the weekend, which is only barely better than The Dark Knight's $158.4 million.

More official numbers should come in during the afternoon, with a final total to be revealed Monday. Should these estimates hold, it will be the greatest opening ever, and put Deathly Hallows Part 2 in a position to do even more later.

How much higher can Harry Potter rise in his last battle? He is already halfway toward the largest domestic box office gross in franchise history, as Deathly Hallows should top the $317 million of Sorcerer's Stone in a few weeks. Yet greater targets like The Dark Knight's overall $533 million gross, and even James Cameron's Titanic and Avatar, may be looked at as vulnerable.

There are still a few potential summer blockbusters on the way, like Captain America, Cowboys & Aliens, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. But none of them will have the same hype and buzz as the last Harry Potter, and it actually helps that the last movie doesn't disappoint.

The film could actually use the same formula as The Dark Knight, as it came out in mid-July 2008, garnered raves the likes of which few summer blockbusters ever achieve, and used word of mouth to get bigger in future weeks. It even had the "farewell" factor in place, as audiences flocked to see Heath Ledger terrorize Gotham months after his death. Of course, Harry Potter's kind of farewell isn't as serious, although it is a factor for this movie.

Challenging the two Cameron epics may be too tall of a task, however. Both Titanic and Avatar came out near the end of winter, then blitzed through a weak crop of competition in January and February. Yet Deathly Hallows could also take advantage of weaker competition in August and September. In addition, larger 3D ticket prices will certainly help, albeit not to the extent that it did for Avatar.

The saga of Harry Potter and the record setting box office will reach a peak on Sunday, once the finale officially surpasses The Dark Knight. And with Voldemort finally dead, there's not much left to stop the boy wizard from rising even further now.

Sources

Deadline Hollywood- "POTTER FINALE PHENOM!"