 The cinematic conclusion to the long-running Harry Porter franchise came to an end over the weekend, and fans came out in flocks, giving it a record-breaking first day at the box office.
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" raked in a $92.1 million opening day Friday (July 15), breaking the record of the previous opening day record-holder, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," which took in $72.7 million in its first day two years ago.
As the weekend continued, "Deathly Hallows" took in over $168 million by weekend's end. That beats the previous best opening weekend of $158.4 million, held by Warner Bros. for 2008's Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight."
Internationally, the film added $307 million in 59 countries since it began rolling out Wednesday, topping the previous best international debut of $260.4 million set in May by Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides."
Worldwide, "Deathly Hallows: Part 2" topped $475 million in a matter of days, putting it on course to become the franchise's first billion-dollar worldwide hit.
"This will be the biggest `Harry Potter' by far," Dan Fellman, head of domestic distribution at Warner Bros., told the Associated Press. "A billion dollars is definitely going to happen."
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" fell to #2 this weekend, taking in $21.2 million; "Horrible Bosses" clipped one spot to #3 with $17.6 million; "Zookeeper" came in at #4 with $12.3 million; and "Cars 2" closes out the top 5 with $8.3 million.
The other wide release over the weekend was Disney's animated family flick, "Winnie the Pooh," was almost forgotten due to the Harry Potter craze. It opens at #6 with jst $8 million.
That's a wrap for this weekend. Next weekend, look out for the release of the latest comic book adaptation "Captain America: The First Avenger"; and the Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis comedy, "Friends with Benefits".
This weekend's top 10 is as follows:
1. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," $168.6 million.
2. "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," $21.3 million.
3. "Horrible Bosses," $17.6 million.
4. "Zookeeper," $12.3 million.
5. "Cars 2," $8.3 million.
6. "Winnie the Pooh," $8 million.
7. "Bad Teacher," $5.2 million.
8. "Larry Crowne," $2.6 million.
9. "Super 8," $1.92 million.
10. "Midnight in Paris," $1.9 million.
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