'Harry Potter' works box office magic with highest-grossing opening of all time

'Harry Potter' works box office magic with highest-grossing opening

of all time

The eighth "Harry Potter" film flew into theaters this weekend and

cast a spell over fans worldwide, as the final movie about the boy

wizard had the highest-grossing opening of all time at the domestic

and international box office.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" conjured an

unprecedented $168.6 million in the U.S. and Canada in just three

days, whizzing past the $158.4 million record set by 2008's "The

Dark Knight," according to an estimate by distributor Warner Bros.

The movie also had the biggest international debut ever, grossing a

magical $307 million overseas in 59 foreign countries.

The last installment in the massively popular franchise began

breaking box-office records only hours after it opened on Friday —

selling more tickets during post-midnight screenings than any other

movie in history, and then passing the milestone for all-time

highest single-day-gross with $92.1 million. The movie went on to

gross far more than any "Harry Potter" film has on its first

weekend in theaters. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1,"

released last November, previously held that record with $125

million in ticket sales upon its debut.

Abroad, the film topped the $236 million opening of "Harry Potter

and the Half-Blood Prince" by 30 percent. Not surprisingly, the

movie performed best in England, where author J.K. Rowling and the

film's major stars are from, collecting $36.6 million. The movie

also raked in a big number of ticket sales in Australia, Germany

and France. It will not open in China until next month.

But just how big can the numbers get? Did the franchise's die-hard

fans all rush out to see the final "Potter" movie on its first

weekend, or will they continue to show up in the coming weeks for

repeat viewings? "Deathly Hallows Part 1" grossed a powerful $955

million worldwide in 2010, and Dan Fellman, president of domestic

distribution for Warner Bros., said he thinks that the last film's

momentum will propel it past the $1 billion mark at the global box

office.

"We had the most successful franchise in the history of the motion

picture business and we had a huge fan base. We also got fantastic

reviews," Fellman said. "That all enables us to expand our

footprint. We are going to be around for a long time."