There’s no doubt this year has had its fair share of blockbusters, with Transformers: Dark of the Moon and The Hangover Part 2 opening with massive numbers and surprise mega-hits like Fast Five and Bridesmaids performing well above expectations. But if it came to putting your money down on what would arguably be the biggest movie of the year, all bets would be laid on the final Harry Potter installment.
Opening in theaters tomorrow in 3D and IMAX (as well as advanced screening at midnight tonight), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 will be one of the biggest movies of all time, coupled with one of the largest opening weekends as well. The last in a series always means lots of dough for Hollywood, but in the case of Potter things are a bit different. After seven movies, all grossing well above the 200 million domestically, there has never been an indication of slowdown or less enthusiasm from fans.
Since 2001 when the original Harry Potter was released, the series has become the most successful film franchise of all time. Here’s a breakdown of how incredible the Harry Potter films have been at consistently making money and outperforming one another.
| Released | Movie Name | 1st Weekend | US Gross | Worldwide Gross | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/16/01 | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone | $90,294,621 | $317,575,550 | $974,775,550 | $125,000,000 |
| 11/15/02 | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | $88,357,488 | $261,987,880 | $878,979,634 | $100,000,000 |
| 6/4/04 | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | $93,687,367 | $249,538,952 | $795,638,952 | $130,000,000 |
| 11/18/05 | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | $102,685,961 | $290,013,036 | $895,913,036 | $150,000,000 |
| 7/11/07 | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | $77,108,414 | $292,004,738 | $938,468,864 | $150,000,000 |
| 7/15/09 | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | $77,835,727 | $301,959,197 | $933,959,197 | $250,000,000 |
| 11/19/10 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I | $125,017,372 | $295,001,070 | $952,241,070 | $125,000,000 |
| 7/15/11 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II | – | – | – | $125,000,000 |
| Totals | $2,008,080,423 | $6,369,976,303 | $1,155,000,000 | ||
| Averages | $286,868,632 | $909,996,615 | $144,375,000 | ||
Those are some serious numbers and proof of how much of a following there is for this series. Yes, some may argue that any franchise with more than six movies should be massive in terms of revenue but still, this is very impressive.
Lord of the Rings and Twilight are the only two film series that made more money with each new release, but the overall grosses of the two combined don’t even reach where Harry Potter is now (though if they had more books in their respective series’ things would be different). Now after all this explanation on how huge this franchise of wizards and witches is, it leads me to the initial point about the last Potter film being released.
This is the end as the posters describes it and that means that this weekend, the film has potential to beat The Dark Knight‘s whopping $158,411,483 opening record. By looking at the numbers above, a prediction of $160 million or a little over that is not to hard to imagine. The fact that the film has already garnered glowing reviews from nearly every critic out there and is receiving incredible word of mouth from advanced screenings doesn’t hurt its chances either.
With Transformers: Dark of the Moon slowing down in cinemas and no heavy competition from other new films (other than Winnie the Pooh, no that was not a joke) this weekend is going to be dedicated to one thing only: Harry Potter. Total gross will max out at around $450 or even $500 domestically and worldwide will finally breach a billion, without a doubt.
Even if you hate the series, or like only one of the sequels or you just enjoy the books; you are still seeing this film sometime soon. No film franchise has had this much hype leading up to its conclusion. Whether you like it or not, everyone knows of Harry Potter and has been intrigued by it in some way or another. That is why Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 will be the biggest movie of this year and likely, one of the biggest of all time.
Published: Jul 14, 2011 03:16 pm