The final installment of the Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, obliterated the midnight shows record of $30 million set by the Twilight Saga: Eclipse with an 3-D, IMAX-aided, but still mammothly impressive $43.5 million from 3,800 North American locations (compared with over 4,000 locations for Eclipse).
Starting today the final Potter film will debut on over 11,000 screens at 4,375 locations in North America in what is one of the broadest releases ever. The film has set an advance sales record and could even endanger The Dark Knight’s all-time $158.4 million record if everything falls just right.
Whether it breaks The Dark Knight’s record or not, Warner Bros. Harry Potter franchise will dethrone Star Wars as the highest-grossing movie franchise of all time (though its attendance is still only about half of that achieved by those Jedi knights, but there’s what ticket price inflation will do for you).
The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 is clearly a worldwide phenomenon with sales already reaching $142.7 million by noon on Friday (Central Time). Be sure and check back on Sunday to see what the final tally will be.
