Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 brought in $24 million in a record 3,700 theaters offering midnight screenings, many of which had been sold out for weeks.
While this sets a record for the franchise, this falls short of the $30 million midnight record set by The Twilight Saga: Eclipse earlier this year and $2 million short of The Twilight Saga: New Moon which opened on the same weekend last year.
The midnight grosses eclipsed the previous record of $22.2 million, set by the sixth film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which opened at midnight on July 15, 2009.
In announcing the new record, Warner Bros. Pictures President of Domestic Distribution Dan Fellman stated, “What makes it even more remarkable is that this film opened in the fall on what is, for most people, a school or work night. The last film opened in the middle of summer, making a midnight show more accessible to a larger segment of the audience. We are all thrilled by these early grosses, which we believe are just the beginning of a record-breaking opening weekend. We are releasing ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1’ at 4,125 locations and on over 9,400 screens in an effort to ensure that the fans who have been eagerly awaiting the film will have every opportunity to see it.”
Stay tuned through the weekend for more updates as they come in as “Deathly Hallows” is likely to generate the biggest three-day opening for the franchise.
