At the two theatre chains I'm tracking in NZ (which make up the majority of the gross) DH2 has already broken Eclipse's record midnight gross a week out (assuming Eclipse's triple feature gross was split into 3).

DH1 probably didn't do a quarter of the business of either.

This is definately a sign of things to come, it's doing what 7-1 didn't which is pulling in crazy midnights and opening day sellouts.

In Hong Kong, Harry Potter is selling out faster than what Transformers 3 did. It's safe to say that this will gross over what Toy Story 3 made last year (3.2m). At this point, I think it has a 50/50 shot of breaking 4m but Transformers will be the wildcard. If Transformers flames out this weekend, Harry Potter will have a bigger chance of securing 4m for the 4-day weekend.

That's pretty awesome and so close together.

You know what's even more awesome? Kung Fu Panda 2 comes out the week after Harry Potter...I wonder if Harry Potter will fall like 80% 2nd weekend.

This month is big openings, no legs galore.

Harry Potter 7-2: Deathly Hallows opens one week from now and as a swansong and trip down memory lane, i'm doing a mini countdown each day, starting with the movie that launched it all....

Harry Potter 1: Philosopher's Stone

$974,733,550



Domestic = $317,575,550 (#26 All-Time, #1 in 2001 and #1 for the franchise)
International = $657,158,000 (#7 All-Time, #1 in 2001 and #2 for the franchise)
Worldwide = $974,733,550 (#9 All-Time, #1 in 2001 and #1 for the franchise)

---

Highlights:
* Domestic - Broke Jurassic Park 2's 4 year opening weekend record and the first above $90m
* Domestic - Raised the single day record twice, first with its opening day and then its 2nd day
* International - Largest gross since Titanic and only the 2nd movie at the time to gross above $600m
* Worldwide - Largest gross since Titanic and only the 4th movie to gross above $900m worldwide at that time, above Star Wars: Phantom Menace and Jurassic Park.

---

Rotten Tomatoes = 80%
Metacritic = 64%
Academy Awards = 0 Wins out of 3 Nominations (Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Score)
BAFTAs = 0 Wins out of 7 Nominations

---

Top 5 International Markets:
1) Japan = $170,100,000
2) United Kingdom = $92,000,000
3) Germany = $68,000,000
4) France = $48,800,000
5) Spain = $24,500,000

In Germany HP1 is still the most successful movie of the last 13 years and its opening weekend record is still unbroken (both in admissions of course)...

And that won't change for a while, especially the opening weekend record. Will probably still stand in 2020...

Avatar as big as it was wasn't even within 1m of its gross in admissions. 2001 was truly a specialy year for German BO with not just Hp1 but also FOTR and Manitu..

There will be 3D previews on Thursday 14th at 8PM here in Mexico and surprise!, all 9 showings are sold out in my town.

It is doing great on the review front. It is 8/8 on RT with a 8.0 rating. So far off to a great start.

Potters have been consistently good, but this looks to be at the upper echelons which is fantastic. Finally, a big blockbuster that has promise of delivery...

is that 9 preview showings or 9 on the first day

If TF3 could get $219 million overseas opening weekend, Potter is certainly getting $300+ million.

Potter has Japan which should make up for its losses in Korea and Russia i think.

Losses?´According to IMDB it opens in South Korea and Japan on that same weekend as well.

Losses as in its bound to open less than TF3 in those markets. There's no way HP7-2 as bit as it is will do $30m in Korea and $20m+ in Russia.

Well, HP will also outopen TF3 BIG TIME in Germany, France, UK...well, pretty much all of Europe.

Harry Potter 2: Chamber Of Secrets

$878,643,482



Domestic = $261,988,482 (#51 All-Time, #4 in 2002 and #6 for the franchise)
International = $616,655,000 (#14 All-Time, #1 in 2002 and #5 for the franchise)
Worldwide = $878,643,482 (#21 All-Time, #2 in 2002 and #6 for the franchise)

---

Highlights:
* Domestic - Scored the 3rd largest opening of all-time and the 2nd largest of 2002
* International - While it lost the domestic crown and worldwide crown, Potter 2 was still the largest movie overseas.

---

Rotten Tomatoes = 83%
Metacritic = 63%
Academy Awards = 0 Nominations
BAFTAs = 0 Wins out of 3 Nominations

---

Top 5 International Markets:
1) Japan = $164,000,000
2) United Kingdom = $88,000,000
3) Germany = $60,000,000
4) France = $53,200,000
5) South Korea = $25,500,000

Was that ever in question, HP7-2 will storm the records in those markets, at least in US$>

The year was 2002, not 2001 (in the parenthesis).

Just seeing if everyone's awake

Here's a seating chart for 2 midnight sessions at the largest cinema in Melbourne CBD. One's a super large screen while the other is a standard screen....and it's pretty much the same situation at all midnights across the entire city (with just over 5 days to go until it officially opens on Wednesday midnight).

.....boy i want to see this quickly, but hell am i not going to buy one of those remaining seats.... it'll kill my eyes.

I once did 3rd row for X-Men Last 3 because we didn't get tickets until 1 hour before the Friday night showing....it wasn't a pleasant experience.

I feel for the moviegoers in these markets....

The no show in Indonesia will cost HP7-2 at least $6m. Part I is the current opening record holder with just above $2m before finishing with $6.2m.

==

Angry Indonesians curse Potter movie no-show

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/ar ... 2c06f7.6c1

JAKARTA — As boy wizard Harry Potter takes on the evil Voldemort in the final movie of the epic series, angry Indonesian movie-lovers are casting hexes and curses on their government over yet another missed film.

A drawn-out tax dispute which has led US studios to boycott the country means fans there will miss out on "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2", which had its world premiere in London on Thursday.

==

Hollywood films on hold as China celebrates

http://www.indiantelevision.com/all_abo ... aah335.php

MUMBAI: While China's Communist Party continues to celebrate, both in a nationwide propaganda blitz with Beginning of the Great Revival, the propaganda epic that marks the 90th anniversary of China's Communist Party, Hollywood's biggest summer releases Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 and Zookeeper have been kept on hold.

All the three films have been slotted for release in the later part of July.The delay in the release of Transformers has stunned film observers considering that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, was China's all-time box office hit for a short period in 2009 after it earned an estimated $59 million after which Cameron’s Avatar edged it out.

Kung Fu Panda 2 had already been in Chinese cinemas for 37 days and raked in an impressive $94 million, according to figures from Chinese entertainment research firm EntGroup.


While cinemas showing Revival have been flooded with screenings, Hollywood blockbusters have been banned and offices and schools have been encouraged to buy tickets in bulk. The film has grossed $49 million in its first 19 days. The film was screened 64,393 times last week, compared to 26,254 times for Kung Fu Panda 2.

The article is fucking hilarious!