Five-day domestic take totals $159.7 million
Warner Bros.’ “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” cleared nearly $400 million in its worldwide debut, conjuring up the biggest overseas opening of all time at $237 million and grossing $159.7 million domestically.
Total tally of $396.7 million is the strongest start ever for a “Harry Potter” film — and one of the top bows of all time. That strength is an indication that fans who have grown up with the franchise are more loyal than ever, even as they mature into adulthood. Exit polls in the U.S. showed that people over age 18 comprised 60% of the pic’s aud, a far greater percentage than was noted for the five previous titles in the series.
Studios don’t often offer praise to their rivals, but in this case, competing execs said Warners has done a magical job in managing the “Potter” franchise by staying true to J.K. Rowling’s book series, a mandate dictated by Rowling’s wishes and enacted by Warners prexy-chief operating office Alan Horn from the start.
Also over the weekend, Fox Searchlight’s romantic comedy “500 Days of Summer” offered a respite from popcorn fare, bowing to a sizzling $837,588 from 27 locations in the top 10 markets for a per-location average of $31,022.
Among holdovers, however, Universal’s release “Bruno” saw steep drops in its second sesh, making it unlikely that the R-rated laffer will come anywhere near what Cohen’s “Borat” cumed domestically ($128.5 million) or internationally ($133.1 million).
“Bruno” tumbled 73% at the domestic B.O. to an estimated $8.3 million from 2,759 theaters for a 10-day cume of $49.6 million. Overseas, pic fell 54% to $10.6 million from 2,400 playdates in 30 territories for a foreign cume of $46 million and worldwide tally of $95.6 million.
[Credit: Variety / Hollywood.com]