HARRY’S SORCERY UNDIMINISHED AS HALLOWS EARNS $125M

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 may not have set a box office record over the weekend, but it did earn a massive $125.1 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday. It was by far the most any Harry Potter movie has ever earned over an opening weekend. The closest previous result was the $103 million earned on the premiere weekend in 2005 for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. What makes the new number particularly striking is that it was achieved without the benefit of 3D surcharges. The original Warner Bros. plan had been to convert the already-shot 2D film to 3D, but last month it said that the conversion was taking longer than anticipated and that, rather than delay the release, it would issue Part 1 in 2D and Part 2 in 3D next July (although it’s expected that both installments will eventually be released sometime in the future as a 3D double feature.) The film did have the benefit of premium pricing for screenings in 239 IMAX venues, where it earned $12.4 million — about 10 percent of the total. The only other new film to open this weekend, The Next Three Days, starring Russell Crowe, tanked with just $6.8 million, well below forecasts of around $10 million. However, DreamWorks Animation’s Megamind crossed the $100-million mark in its third weekend as it raked in about $16.2 million, bringing its total to $109.5 million.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo:
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, $125.1 million; 2. Megamind, $16.2 million; 3. Unstoppable, $13.1 million; 4. Due Date, $9.2 million; 5. The Next Three Days, $6.8 million; 6. Morning Glory, $5.2 million; 7. Skyline, $3.4 million; 8. RED, $2.5 million; 9. For Colored Girls, $2.4 million; 10. Fair Game, $1.5 million.

UPDATE: The Los Angeles Times reported on its website that Deathly Hallows earned an estimated $205 million overseas, putting its worldwide total at $330.1 million. Only three other films, the newspaper observed, have had bigger worldwide debuts: Harry Parter and the Half-Blood Prince, Spider-Man 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.

UPDATE 2:
Final Figures for the Top Five Films:

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, $125,017,372
2. Megamind, $16,012,831
3. Unstoppable, $13,005,855
4. Due Date, $8,912,182
5. The Next Three Days, $6,542,779