Weekend Box Office Analysis: July 15-17

Records are meant to be broken and indeed a HUGE one was shattered this weekend! With it's $92M Friday ($43.5M from midnight showings), $44.2M Saturday and $33.6M Sunday, Warner Bros. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 conjured up the top weekend opening of all time at the domestic box office, grossing a staggering $168.6M, capping the most successful film franchise in history!

The previous record for best weekend opening domestically belonged to WB's The Dark Knight, which grossed $158.4M in its first three days. The final Harry Potter movie opened in 4,375 theaters and averaged $38,526 per location. And the good news just keeps coming. Part 2 scored an overall CinemaScore of 'A'. Warner Bros.’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 grossed a massive $476M in its worldwide debut, by far the best showing of all time. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was the previous crown holder at $394M. Deathly Hallows Part 2’s opening overseas clocked in at $307M, while it earned $168.6M in North America.

Earlier this summer, Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides scored the biggest debut of all time at the international box office when opening to $262 million. Deathly Hallows safely beat that number as it rolled out in 59 countries.Other records set by Deathly Hallows Part 2 domestically: Largest opening day ever, and the largest opening for the franchise. Previous best was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 ($125M). Deathly Hallows Part 2 is the first title in the franchise to be released in 3D. While 3D upped the film’s earning potential, only 43% of the opening gross came from 3D theaters, another reminder that moviegoers in North America are opting to see films in 2D and avoid the extra upcharge. That didn’t hurt IMAX, though, which played Deathly Hallows Part 2 in 274 theaters. IMAX theaters supplied $15.5 million in revenues, a record opening for the large-format exhibitor.

Paramount's Transformers: Dark of the Moon dropped a spot to second with $21.3M domestically its third weekend. The Michael Bay film is the first to pass the $300M mark at the North American box office this year having earned $302.8M to date. The movie cost about $195M to make, not counting marking costs. Warner Bros. Horrible Bosses added $17.6M its second weekend to bring its total to $60M. The R-rated comedy was made for just $35M. In fourth, Columbia Pictures Zookeeper made $12.3M and has earned $42.4 million after two weeks. This comedy was budgeted at $80M though.

Disney’s new kids entry Winnie the Pooh met expectations (really?) in its debut, grossing $8M. However, the film only placed No. 6 for the weekend, coming in behind fellow Disney/Pixar pic Cars 2, which grossed $8.3M for a domestic cume of $165.3M. In seventh place, Sony's Bad Teacher added $5.2M to bring its four-week total to $88.5M. The comedy was reportedly budgeted at just $20M. Sony Pictures Classics’ Midnight in Paris is now Woody Allen’s top domestic earner of all time, grossing $1.9M for the weekend from 706 theaters for a cume of $41.8M, surpassing the $40.1M grossed by Hannah and Her Sisters.

Here's how the Top 10 shakes out:


1. Harry Potter/Hallows, Pt 2 - 3D (Warner Bros) NEW [4,375 Theaters]
Friday $92.1M, Saturday $44.2M, Sunday $33.6M, Weekend $168M

2. Transformers 3 - 3D (Paramount) Week 3 [3,917 Theaters]
Friday $6.3M, Saturday $9.8M, Sunday $6,2M, Weekend $21.2M, Cume $302.8M

3. Horrible Bosses (New Line/Warner Bros) Week 2 [3,134 Theaters]
Friday $5.4M, Saturday $6.9M, Sunday $5M, Weekend $17.6M (-39%), Cume $60M

4. Zookeeper (Sony) Week 2 [3,482 Theaters]
Friday $3.8M, Saturday $5.1M, Sunday $3.4M, Weekend $12.3M (-38%), Cume $42.3M

5. Cars 2 - 3D (Disney) Week 4 [3,249 Theaters]
Friday $2.4M, Saturday $3.4M, Sunday $2.4M, Weekend $8.3M, Cume $165.2M

6. Winnie The Pooh (Disney) NEW [2,405 Theaters]
Friday $2.9M, Saturday $2.6M, Sunday $2.3M, Weekend $8M

7. Bad Teacher (Sony) Week 4 [2,659 Theaters]
Friday $1.6M, Saturday $2.1M, Sunday $1.4M Weekend $5.2M, Cume $88.5M

8. Larry Crowne (Vendome/Universal) Week 3 [2,287 Theaters]
Friday $800K, Saturday $1.2M, Sunday $629K, Weekend $2.5M, Saturday Cume $31.6M

9. Super 8 (Paramount) Week 6 [1,459 Theaters]
Friday $545K, Saturday $800K, Sunday $547K, Weekend $1.9M, Cume $122.2M

10. Midnight In Paris (Sony Classics) Week 9 [819 Theaters]
Friday $500K, Saturday $800K, Sunday $570K, Weekend $1.8M, Cume $41.7M