Five-Day Record for 'Harry' and Pals; 'Bruno' Dissolves With 73% Drop

Sunday update: 

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” got off to a franchise record $159.7 million five-day start in North America, according to studio figures, besting 2007’s “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” ($139.7 million).

Universal’s “Bruno,” meanwhile, continued to struggle after poor word-of-mouth, dropping 73% for the three-day weekend period to $8.4 million. The “Borat” follow-up has now grossed $49.6 million domestically.

Finishing in second place in its third week of release was Fox’s first 3D movie, the animated “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.”

"Ice Age" registered $17.7 million for the three-day period, a 36% week-to-week drop, bringing its North American total to $152 million.

Paramount’s “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” placed third with a $13.8 million weekend, putting its four-week North American total at $363.9 million. 

More to come...

Saturday update:

Taking in $26.8 million in 4,325 North American locations Friday, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" has now reached a domestic box-office total of $107 million, putting it on a pace that would give it nearly $160 million by the end of the weekend, the fastest start ever for Warner Bros' "Potter" franchise.

However, it's behind the record $200 million five-day opening established last month by Paramount's "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."

The sixth installment of "Potter" -- which is set for a box-office-leading $80 million weekend -- is tracking ahead of 2007's version five, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," which took in $139.7 million over its first five days.

For the latest "Potter," the hot start conjures up an opportunity to hit the $1 billion mark globally, a feat that's been narrowly missed by most of the franchise's movies. In fact, four out of five of the "Potter" films have exceeded $900 million globally and $600 million internationally. No. 6 got out to a strong $45.9 million foreign box-office start Wednesday.

Fox's first 3D animated feature, "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," took in another $5.4 million Friday and is on pace for a $17.6 million weekend, its third in release. Internationally, the film has grossed $332.6 million in its first 10 days. The second "Ice Age," released in 2006, brought in $6519 million globally.

Dropping like a stone in fourth place, Universal's "Bruno" brought in just $2.9 million Friday, an 80% week-to-week decline that puts it on pace to cume $49.7 million domestically by the end of the weekend.

Universal bought domestic and foreign rights to "Bruno" for $42.5 million from Media Rights Capital in 2007 and paid another $55 million to market the film globally -- this included a $73,000 bill to cover a tank with mirror balls so that star Sacha Baron Cohen could drive it into the Los Angeles premiere.

With the film getting off to a strong international start, "Bruno's" producers say they're also hoping for a solid DVD and Blu-ray release.

 

1 | 2