New Potter film breaks box office records

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One made $330 million during its opening weekend.

LOS ANGELES: The new Harry Potter film has broken box office records around the world, taking some $330 million globally in one of the biggest opening weekends of all time, its makers and estimates said on Sunday.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One made $125.1 million in the US and scored Britain’s biggest ever opening weekend with $28 million, said Warner Brothers, the studio behind the franchise. In Australia the film made $15 million while it earned $12 million in Russia - both the highest opening weekends of the Potter series.

“This is truly a motion picture phenomenon, and it is just the beginning for the penultimate release of the franchise,” said Dan Fellman, head of US distribution.

Veronika Kwan-Rubinek, head of international distribution, added, “We are thrilled by the enthusiastic response of international audiences. It’s a testament to the extraordinary vision of JK Rowling;the talent of the filmmakers, cast and everyone involved in the production including the hard work of our entire distribution and marketing teams around the world.”

Hollywood Reporter also hailed the latest Potter triumph. “The box-office wizard has outdone himself. Hallows: Part 1 has a good shot at mounting a year’s best theatrical run if the film maintains momentum through the upcoming Thanksgiving span and beyond,” it said, reporting the box office smash.

In the new film - the sixth and penultimate in the series - evil Lord Voldemort and his evil henchmen control huge swathes of the wizarding world and Harry is constantly in danger. Much of the film revolves around a road trip. The trio travel around Britain in attempt to safe, and focuses on the close friendship between the main characters, in particular the budding romance between Hermione and Ron. However, the film ends on a cliff-hanger, as the final resolution will not be known until Part Two, which will be released in July.

The next and final instalment will cover an explosive battle between Potter, his allies and Voldemort’s dark forces.

In the US, the Potter movie’s $125 million take dwarfed the rest of the top 10 in box office tracker Exhibitor Relation’s weekly estimate of weekend takings.

The magic of Harry Potter in figures

• More than 400 million copies of Harry Potter books have been sold worldwide. The books have been translated into 69 languages and sold in 200 territories, Rowling’s literary agents say. There are seven novels and three spin-off books.

• Rowling is worth around $1 billion, according to the recently published Shanghai-based Hurun rich list.

The three main stars of the films are also millionaires. • According to The Sunday Times Rich List, Daniel Radcliffe (Harry) has $68 million, Emma Watson (Hermione) has $35 million and Rupert Grint (Ron) has $32 million.

• The first six films took $5.4 billion at the box office worldwide, according to industry sources. The very first, released in 2001, was the biggest grossing, taking almost one billion dollars on its own.

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is one of 17 games introduced on the new Xbox 360 motion-sensing controller Kinect - and fans can also buy merchandise from mugs to calendars, stamps to soft toys.

• The first theme park based on the series, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, opened in June 2010 in Orlando, Florida, where fans can tour Hogwarts castle, fly with Harry, ride on a dragon and eat exploding sweets.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 23^rd, 2010.