Potter films ‘highest earning series’
Warner Brothers Pictures have revealed the five Harry Potter movies grossed a total of $4.47 billion (€3.23bn) worldwide, surpassing the $4.44bn haul for the 22 James Bond movies.
That gives the studio bragging rights for the most lucrative film franchise ever.
The company’s Dan Fellman said: “With two movies yet to come, it is amazing to think what heights the franchise could reach by the end of the decade.”
Potter films are due to be released next year and in 2010, based on the final instalments of the books by JK Rowling.
Fuelled by worldwide grosses of $923.7 million for the most recent film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the wizard franchise passed the tally for the 007 series on September 2.
The six-film Star Wars franchise sits third on the list of most-lucrative movie series, with $4.23bn in worldwide box office sales.
None of the tallies account for inflation or rising ticket prices.
Warner chief operating officer Alan Horn acknowledged it would be hard to come up with a direct comparison among the top three franchises.
“It’s just a fun number,” he said of the milestone.
“It is not any way to diminish the box office totals of Star Wars and the Bond movies.”
Bond filmmakers, meanwhile, are doing their best to keep adding to their franchise’s tally, with at least two more instalments of that series in the works.
Although Sony is calling the next instalment Bond 22, Warner included Never Say Never Again — an unofficial remake of Thunderball and starring Sean Connery as Bond — in its tally.
The Star Wars franchise, meanwhile, is dormant — at least for now.
Perhaps shaken but not perturbed, there is still hope for 007. The latest movie, Casino Royale, holds the record for the most successful Bond film at the box office.
But it was outstripped by Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, which was the second biggest film behind Titanic.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
