“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” generated $158 million in sales in its first five days in U.S. and Canadian theaters, trailing “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” for the best such opening this year.
The film, released by Time Warner Inc. on July 15, had ticket revenue of $77.8 million for the three-day weekend, researcher Hollywood.com Box-Office said today in an e-mailed statement.
“This is amazing because the franchise is eight years in, and really still that relevant,” said Paul Dergarabedian, an analyst at Hollywood.com Box-Office, in a telephone interview.
The company’s Warner Bros. film studio plans two more Potter movies based on the seventh book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” The first five grossed $1.4 billion in the U.S. and Canada starting in 2001 and $4.48 billion worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo LLC, which also tracks receipts.
HARRY Potter author JK Rowling has been named the richest author in the world, after it was revealed she earns £3million a week.
