Harry Potter Rakes in the Dough in First Week

Well everyone, numbers for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is in and in its first week, the wizard and his friends raked in nearly $160 million dollars ($159.7 million). The movie took in $79.5 million during its opening weekend. This makes Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince the second most successful movie behind Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen which took in $200 million during its first week. This installment of the Harry Potter took in more money during its first week than Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix which came out two years ago. That movie brought in just under $140 million dollars over five days.

So how did Transformers end up beating Harry Potter? This is why I think Transformers came out on top. First, I think there was a lot more promotion for Transformers. Sure, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince had a lot of promotion, but it just seemed that Transformers won out. Second, Transformers has been around a lot longer than Harry Potter has. The animated series first premiered in the 1980's. I mean, I remember being a little kid and having the action figures. I think every little boy back in the day had his Transformers action figures. Transformers even had its own comic book series. Last time I checked, Harry Potter did not come out with its own comic book series. Third, it is believed by some (as noted in my previous article Harry Potter May not be Top Movie of Summer 2009) that Harry Potter may have lost some of its fan base. Keep in mind that the first movie came out eight years ago. So, a person who was twelve years old then is now twenty years old. Some people do grow out of things and it's possible that some people moved on from Harry Potter. Finally, Transformers Two had some famous actors in it, particularly Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox. Personally, I think there were many people who wanted to see how Megan Fox would do in the movie. Shia LaBeouf has also managed to gain a rather large fan base himself.

Whatever the reason is for Transformers beating out Harry Potter, it really doesn't matter. It still did very well at the Box Office this weekend. Many people will always be a Harry Potter fan at heart. Best of all, there is still two movies to come. In the end, Harry Potter may still come out on top in the total Box Office gross because it comes out in IMAX theaters on July 29. It will give people an exciting 3D experience. The movie may still have a few potions up its sleeve.

Sources:

Associated Press, "Harry Potter Conjures Up $159.7 Million in Five Days." FoxNews.com.