Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 cast a spell on audiences Friday in hauling in a whopping $61 million on its opening day.
Friday’s single-day ticket sales for Deathly Hallows are a high for the Potter franchise and puts the film on pace to bring in around $130 million through Sunday. The previous opening Potter weekend is held by Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire $102.7 million take back in 2005.
Lionsgate dared to face Harry Potter dead on and felt the wrath of his wand. Next Three Days starring Russell Crowe, the only other newcomer this weekend, opened to an awful $2.5 million on Friday and will be fortunate to reach $7.5 million through the weekend. The film has cost Lionsgate millions to promote and will need a significant surge in interest over the Thanksgiving holiday to recoup the studio’s investment.
Check back tomorrow for the complete weekend box office estimates to see how high Harry Potter business was able to fly.
