HALLOWS IS DEATHLY TO BOX-OFFICE RECORDS

Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 shattered one record after another over the weekend, culminating with an estimated $168.6 million domestically for the three days, making it the all-time champion for a regular weekend opener. The previous record, $158.4 million, set in 2008, was held by another Warner Bros. film, The Dark Knight, but that film did not have 3D premium pricing going for it, and it retains the record for the most tickets sold. Earlier, Deathly Hallows broke the record for a midnight debut, for a Friday opener, and for an IMAX debut. Two more records fell overseas, as Warner Bros. announced later on Sunday that the Harry Potter finale earned a record $307 million to bring its worldwide total to $475.6 million, another record. The only other film to open wide, Disney’s Winnie the Pooh, outperformed most estimates, taking in about $8 million to finish in sixth place. Few had expected it to do any better. Disney had already released it overseas in April, where it had performed poorly, despite mostly positive reviews. Disney clearly released the film against Deathly Hallows as an alternative for families with small fry and to set the stage for an end-of-summer DVD release.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo: 1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, $168.6 million; 2. Transformers: Dark of the Moon, $21.3 million; 3. Horrible Bosses, $17.6 million; 4. Zookeeper, $12.3 million; 5. Cars 2, $8.3 million; 6. Winnie the Pooh, $8 million; 7. Bad Teacher, $5.2 million; 8. Larry Crowne, $2.6 million; 9. Super 8, $1.9 million; 9. (Tie) Midnight in Paris, $1.9 million.

UPDATE:
Final Figures for the Top Five Films
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, $169,189,427
2. Transformers: Dark of the Moon, $21,328,545
3. Horrible Bosses, $17,777,464
4. Zookeeper, $12,330,512
5. Cars 2, $8,407,529