Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 took in $43.5 million at the midnight box office in North America — the biggest midnight opening of all time. Potter earned almost 50% more than previous midnight champion, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, which earned $30 million from midnight shows when it was released in June 2010.
The Harry Potter franchise is estimated to be the most profitable film franchise ever. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, the eighth and final film has already grossed more than $100 million at the worldwide box office. If momentum keeps rising, this may be the biggest worldwide opening of all time.
The film’s big North America opening early Friday morning can be attributed in part to the 3,800 theaters that had midnight screenings. During the day Friday, the total number of theaters will jump to 4,300, with 3,000 of those houses showing the film in 3D. Warner Bros. tells The Hollywood Reporter that all of its 3D midnight showings are sold out, indicating that 3D could be a big ticket driver for Deathly Hallows Part 2.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and Warner Bros. really embraced digital media and social networks when promoting the film. It appears to have paid off. At the time of this writing, seven of the 10 trending topics on Twitter in New York City were related to Harry Potter. Earlier Friday that figure was as high as nine out of 10 trending topics.
Have you seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2? What do you think of the film and its social media impact? Let us know in the comments.
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