Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 outpaced even the most generous prognostications this weekend, setting a new weekend record with an incredible $314 million at the foreign box office. That's 20 percent up on the previous record-holder, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and 32 percent up on Half-Blood Prince's series record. Including its stunning domestic take, Deathly Hallows Part 2 also eclipsed Half-Blood Prince to set the worldwide opening weekend record with an astronomical $483.2 million. That improved to $542.2 million through Monday ($18 million domestic plus $41 million overseas), and the movie set a new record by passing the half-billion dollar mark in just six days.
Not surprisingly, Potter's top territory was its native United Kingdom. It earned $37.8 million, which represented the biggest three-day weekend ever. It also obliterated the previous opening weekend record in Australia, where it debuted to $27.1 million. While it didn't set any weekend records in its other major territories, it still raked in boatloads of cash in Germany ($26 million), France ($24.5 million), Japan ($21.9 million), Russia ($19.5 million), Mexico ($15.8 million), Italy ($15.7 million), South Korea ($11.3 million), Brazil ($11 million) and Spain ($8.7 million). On average, the opening weekend 3D share was 60 percent, which was lower than Transformers: Dark of the Moon (70 percent) and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (66 percent). Foreign IMAX theaters accounted for $8 million, or 2.6 percent of Potter's weekend.
"Harry Potter is truly a cultural phenomenon the world over," said Veronika Kwan-Rubinek, Warner Bros. president of international distribution, in a press release. "Whether in German, French, Japanese, Russian, or any language, international audiences have embraced the Harry Potter films over the years, with the powerful finale punctuating just how special the property is. We congratulate everyone associated with the films on this monumental achievement."
By passing $500 million in its sixth day, Deathly Hallows Part 2 slayed the previous nine-day speed record established by Dark of the Moon just two weeks ago. Deathly Hallows Part 2 is also well-positioned to become the highest-grossing Harry Potter movie ever on a foreign and worldwide basis, and will almost certainly become the third movie this summer to reach $1 billion worldwide.
Against Potter's massive opening, Transformers: Dark of the Moon expectedly plummeted 58 percent to $39.5 million. On Friday, it eclipsed the last Transformers movie's $434 million total, and it has now made a huge $466.1 million overseas. The worldwide total reached $771.8 million and, with releases in China (July 22) and Japan (July 29) coming in the next two weeks, Dark of the Moon still looks like a strong candidate to reach $1 billion. Cars 2 fell 52 percent to $12.4 million from 28 territories. The movie has now made $146.6 million overseas for a worldwide total of $312 million. The summer's other major animated offering, Kung Fu Panda 2, grossed $10.2 million for an overseas total of $423.1 million. In the process, it cruised past the original Kung Fu Panda's $416.3 million total.
Finally, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides added $3.1 million for a total of $791.4 million. On Thursday, it topped Alice in Wonderland's $1.024 billion to become the sixth highest-grossing movie ever on a worldwide basis, and its total now sits at $1.029 billion.
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