Potter conjures up box office record

THE boy wizard has vanquished the dark knight and a band of pirates with a record-setting magic act at both the domestic and international box office.

Warner Bros estimates that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 took in $168.6 million (€120m) domestically from Friday to yesterday. That beats the $158.4m also held by Warner Bros for 2008’s The Dark Knight.

Overseas, the film added $307m in 59 countries since it began rolling out on Wednesday, topping the previous best international debut of $260.4m set in May by Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

International results for Deathly Hallows: Part 2 included record openings in Britain at $36.6m and Australia at $26.7m, according to Warner Bros.

Worldwide, Deathly Hallows: Part 2 topped $475m in days, putting it on course to become the franchise’s first billion-dollar worldwide hit. “This will be the biggest Harry Potter by far,” said Dan Fellman, head of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. “A billion dollars is definitely going to happen.”

The current franchise high is $974.8m worldwide for the first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, 10 years ago.

Deathly Hallows: Part 2 does have the advantage of 3-D screenings, which cost more than 2-D shows.