Hello, trifecta. After scoring the largest midnight debut and opening day, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2 also landed the big one: best opening weekend.
According to studio estimates, the PG-13 wizarding movie collected $168.6 million this weekend, surpassing The Dark Knight‘s record $158.4 million and giving Warner Bros. the two best opening weekends ever. However, when adjusted for inflation, Knight would still be king with approximately $173 million in today’s ticket prices. Nevertheless, everyone involved with the eighth and final Potter film should be mighty proud. Not only did the movie bring in record-breaking amounts of moolah, but it’s currently the best-reviewed wide release of the year, according to both Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes. And it received an overall “A” rating from CinemaScore audiences.
Potter earned a record $15.5 million at IMAX theaters, according to the large-screen company. The film’s conversion to 3-D, however, produced middling results, as just 43 percent of the movie’s debut came from 3-D screens. Transformers: Dark of the Moon, by comparison, harvested 60 percent of its opening from 3-D showings. Overseas, where audiences are still enamored with 3-D, Potter‘s three-dimensional share was a stronger 61 percent. Speaking of overseas, Potter grossed $307 million in 59 countries, surpassing Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides‘ $260.4 million for the largest foreign opening of all time. Add in its domestic total and Potter’s worldwide debut becomes $475.6 million, trouncing the prior all-time benchmark of $394 million set by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Lest we all forget, other movies also played this weekend. Disney’s new Winnie the Pooh debuted in sixth place with $8 million. The G-rated picture topped the openings of Pooh’s Heffalump Movie ($5.8 million) and Piglet’s Big Movie ($6.1 million), but fell short of The Tigger Movie ($9.4 million). CinemaScore audiences gave it an “A-” grade. Curiously, 2 percent of CinemaScore’s participants listed “actress in a lead role” as a reason for why they attended Winnie the Pooh. Explain that one to me.
Among holdovers, Transformers: Dark of the Moon fell 55 percent for $21.3 million, pushing the action film’s cumulative total to $302.8 million. The comedies Horrible Bosses and Zookeeper held up well, slipping only 38 percent and 39 percent for $17.6 million and $12.3 million, respectively. Pixar’s Cars 2 rounded out the top five with $8.3 million.
