'Harry Potter' Box Office Shattering Opening Weekend Records

Harry Potter box office numbers have been shattering records for 10 years. However, although the series has the biggest box office of any franchise in history, no individual Harry Potter epic had been record setting. But Deathly Hallows Part 2 is already changing that, as it is on pace to have the largest opening weekend of all time by a wide margin.

Three years ago, The Dark Knight set the standard with over $158 million in its first three days. Yet Deadline Hollywood projected a $180 million opening for Deathly Hallows Part 2 on Friday, and the first numbers have done nothing to change that.

Deadline Hollywood now alleges that the final Harry Potter has made $95 million on Friday alone, including the record-setting $43.5 million from the midnight screenings. Such numbers would give the movie the largest opening day box office ever, blowing out the $72 million made by Twilight: New Moon in fall 2009. As such, a three-day total of around $180 million seems assured.

There have been countless grand finales in movie history, like the end of the Star Wars trilogies, the Lord of the Rings series, and the Toy Story ending just last summer. But why is this big final topping them all to this extent? It may have something to do with having over 4,500 theaters to sell out, larger 3D ticket prices, and a fan base that is in the billions thanks to the books and movies.

It also helps that Deathly Hallows Part 2 is actually living up to the hype in quality as well, with the best reviews for any Harry Potter movie. Since the best is truly saved for last, the word of mouth is bound to spread beyond this weekend- especially after the last several weeks of blockbuster bombs.

Since the film is ready to top The Dark Knight for the best opening weekend, now pundits will wonder if it can top its $533 million overall gross as well. That could be a bit difficult, since Deathly Hallows has to do battle with Captain America next week, along with Cowboys & Aliens the week after that, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes on August 5.

But The Dark Knight fended off challenges from Mamma Mia, The Mummy 3 and Pineapple Express en route to its box office rampage. The Potter fanatics are just as committed as the Batman ones, so they could keep going back as well- especially since they are probably not ready to say a last goodbye quite yet.

At the least, Deathly Hallows Part 2 will soon be halfway to the biggest overall box office in Harry Potter history, which is still held by Sorcerer's Stone and its $317.5 million 10 years ago. There is now no doubt that the finale will outdo the original, but the only question is how wide the margin of victory will be.

Sources

Deadline Hollywood- "POTTER FINALE PHENOM!"

IMDb.com- "All-Time USA Box Office"