Warner Bros.’ decision to split the final Harry Potter book into two film has been firmly vindicated over the weekend, with the movie scoring the franchise’s strongest opening ever in the US, taking $125 million in its first three days. The previous biggest was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which grossed $102.7 million in 2005. Deathly Hallows scored the seventh biggest opening ever in the US.
There was certainly huge amounts of anticipation, with loyal fans queuing up on Friday, ensuring nearly half the weekend total came just from the first day. Indeed Friday’s $61 million take made some wonder whether it was on its way to a $150 million US opening weekend, but in the end it didn’t quite get that far. The movie also did extremely well outside the US.
It opened in 54 countries, where it made $205 million (just over $330 million including the US). That includes over £17 in the UK, marking the biggest ever three day opening ever in Britain (other Harry Potter films have made more overall by the end of their first weekend, but only because they opened earlier in the week, or had lengthy previews which counted into the toal). However while it’s certainly a massive launch, it didn’t quite beat the $236 million international opening for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, which remains the biggest opening ever.
The only other movie to debut in the US top 10 was the Russell Crowe flick The Next Three Days, which took a fairly weak $6.7 million after weak reviews. Also worth a mention is that despite being hit by the opening of Harry Potter, Megamind crossed the $100 million mark.
Take a look below for the US box office top 10 for the weekend of November 19th-21st.
| Rank | Title | Weekend Gross (millions) | Total Gross to date (millions) |
| 1 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 | $125.1 | $125.1 |
| 2 | Megamind | $16.1 | $109.4 |
| 3 | Unstoppable | £13 | $41.9 |
| 4 | Due Date | £9 | $72.6 |
| 5 | The Next Three Days | $6.7 | $6.7 |
| 6 | Morning Glory | $5.2 | $19.8 |
| 7 | Skyline | $3.4 | $17.6 |
| 8 | Red | $2.4 | $83.5 |
| 9 | For Colored Girls | $2.4 | $34.5 |
| 10 | Fair Game | $1.4 | $3.7 |