Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince isn't just a magical film - it's a supernatural success! CLICK HERE to watch Jeff Bayer on KPTV’s Reel Reviews talk about Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
CLICK HERE to read the complete Scorecard Review of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
In only about 24 hours, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has earned a total of $104 million. Stateside, it has grossed $58.2 million, while internationally it has banked $45.9 million. Easily, it is the best start ever for the franchise.
When it debuted at 12:01 AM last Wednesday, the sixth film of the Harry Potter franchise broke the record for best midnight gross of all-time, earning a whopping $22.2 million while playing on 3,003 screens. (Here in Chicago, at least 18 screens were devoted to a midnight showing of the film). For those keeping track, the original record of $18 million belonged to The Dark Knight, which took the honor away from Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith's $17 million midnight debut. Even a "successful" film like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen banked about $16 million from its midnight showings.
Half-Blood Prince has also made its place in the box-office record books overseas. In the U.K, it earned the third-highest opening of all time with $7.6 million (from 1,305 screens). In Italy, its $4 million debut was the second highest opening the country has ever seen, playing on 923 screens. Australia now has a new third-highest opener, as the Potter film earned $4.4 million with just 484 screens.
The biggest honor for Harry Potter comes from Holland, which now places the film as its best opener of all time (with $1.3 million).
The previous Harry Potter film, Order of the Phoenix, debuted on the same Wednesday of July in 2007, but only $44 million, making Half-Blood Prince an obvious improvement.
"With many countries yet to open, these already outstanding box office numbers are another testament to the universal appeal of J.K Rowling's stories and the work of everyone behind the Harry Potter films," stated Warners prexy of international distribution Veronika Kwan-Rubinek.
Right now, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has a very respectable 84% at Rotten Tomatoes, which supports Variety's claim that this is the best received Potter film yet.
I was wrong to think Harry Potter was put under the metaphorically financial stairs, even with the emergence of dashing vampires and werewolves. Though Twilight may be a fresher series with an extremely devoted fanbase, it seems that many of those who read the Harry Potter books, from the very young to the very old, have come out in droves to hang out with their favorite wizards once again. It doesn't seem to matter that it's been two years since the last book or film, or even that the movies are starting to inflate their running times. J.K Rowling and Co. have hooked their fans in, and from what I hear from my friends about this new one, they're all very pleased.
This comes as a bit of relief, considering the massive expectations already set for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which will be broken into two films. But I guess with the franchise's growing and age expansive fanbase, what else could we really expecto patrolum?
For those who have seen the movie, what did you think? Is it something you'd like to see again?
CLICK HERE to read the complete Scorecard Review of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince