Veronika Kwan-Rubinek remarked, "Harry Potter is truly a cultural phenomenon the world over. Rowling, as well as producer David Heyman. This is the culmination of an extraordinary decade, and a reflection of the hard work and dedication of many, many people on both sides of the camera, beginning with the brilliant J.K. It is impossible to quantify how thrilled and grateful we all are that both critics and audiences-especially loyal Harry Potter fans-continue to support the film. Midnight opening screenings not only met but exceeded those expectations, with $43.5 million at the domestic box office alone.ĭan Fellman stated, "These numbers are amazing, but they are only part of the story. The film began breaking records even before its opening, as unprecedented advance ticket sales gave the first indication of just how huge the box office bow would be. Globally, it also broke the IMAX opening weekend record with a worldwide gross of $23.5 million, which includes setting a new record in North America with $15.5 million. Led by record-breaking grosses in the UK ($36.6 million) and Australia ($26.7 million), all markets have performed exceedingly well, including Germany ($25.7 million), France ($23.9 million) and Japan ($21.5 million).
Opening day-and-date in 59 territories, the international box office take was a staggering $307 million, making it the biggest international weekend of all time. Among the other records broken were single-day box office (Friday at $92.1 million), Friday box office, and opening day box office. The finale of the globally beloved film series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2" earned a stunning $168.5 million at the domestic box office, which not only is the biggest Harry Potter opening weekend but also obliterated the industry's opening weekend record, including holiday weekends. Pictures President of Domestic Distribution, Dan Fellman, and President of International Distribution, Veronika Kwan-Rubinek. The announcement was made today by Warner Bros. Pictures' "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2" shattered multiple domestic and international box office records in a history-making opening weekend. With an astounding estimated worldwide box office total of more than $476 million, Warner Bros.
Here's the press release from Warners, which is understandably ecstatic about the giant sacks of money now in the studio vaults:
did right by Harry Potter, and audiences responded by turning out in record numbers to see the wrap-up of the story. ( Midnight in Paris turning into Woody Allen's biggest hit over the span of two months is a great success story, for example.)īut in the case of The Deathly Hallows – Part 2, audience expectations were created by the seven previous films, which have continued to engage fans over ten years. At this point it is more notable when a heavily marketed film fails, or when something performs surprisingly well over many weeks. On a weekly basis we can see that marketing and the creation and management of expectations have a hell of a lot more to do with opening weekend numbers than does the quality of a film. Normally I'm not terribly interested in big box office numbers. upset its own record for the biggest domestic opening weekend box office take, set by The Dark Knight in 2008, as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 opened to a $168.5 million domestic haul and earned nearly half a billion dollars worldwide.
What happens when a studio dedicates a decade to adapting one of the most popular novel series in the world, and does so with an eye for quality? In the case of Harry Potter, the result is a massive payoff.