The boy wizard has done it again.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire grossed $101.4 million in its debut weekend, the best results yet for the franchise. The film was also the fourth-best, three-day opening weekend ever, behind Spider-Man, which opened in 2002 with $114.8 million.
The fourth installment of the adventures of Harry and his curious classmates at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is the first Potter film to earn a PG-13 rating for its fantasy violence and special effects. But that did not deter audiences.
“The Potter franchise is just irresistible to moviegoers,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations told the Associated Press. “The combination of the Potter books and the love audiences have for the movies conspired a big opening weekend.”
Debuting in second place was the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, which took in $22.4 million. Oscar talk is already swirling around Joaquin Phoenix’s performance as Cash, as well as Reese Witherspoon, who co-stars as Cash’s lifelong love, June Carter.
The Top 12 films grossed an estimated $171.1 million, up 19.47 percent from last year’s draw of $143.1 million and up 53.60 percent from last weekend’s $111.3 million.
The top three films at the box office this time last year were: Buena Vista’s PG rated National Treasure, which opened at No. 1 with $35.1 million in 3,017 theaters, averaging $11,648 per theater; Paramount Pictures’ PG-rated SpongeBob SquarePants, which opened in second place with $32 million in 3,212 theaters, averaging $9,968 per theater; and Buena Vista/Pixar’s PG rated The Incredibles, which dropped to third place in its third week with $26.5 million in 3,683 theaters, averaging $7,202 per theater. (Click here to read last year’s box office report)
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $101.4 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,858
• Per-theater average: $26,290
No. 2: Walk the Line (20th Century Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $22.4 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,961
• Per-theater average: $7,565
No. 3 Chicken Little (Buena Vista, G)
• Gross: $14.7 million (-53%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,514 (-144)
• Per-theater average: $4,203
• Cume to date: $99.1 million
No. 4: Derailed (Weinstein Co., R)
• Gross: $6.5 million (-47%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,447 (+4)
• Per-theater average: $1,578
• Cume to date: $21.8 million
No. 5: Zathura (Sony Pictures, PG)
• Gross: $5.1 million (-62%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,232 (+9)
• Per-theater average: $4,344
• Cume to date: $20.2 million
No. 6: Jarhead (Universal, R)
• Gross: $4.8 million (-59%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,413 (-35)
• Per-theater average: $1,989
• Cume to date: $54.3 million
No. 7: Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (Weinstein Co., R)
• Gross: $4.3 million (-64%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 1,666
• Per-theater average: $2,626
• Cume to date: $24.5 million
No. 8: Saw II (Lions Gate, R)
• Gross: $3.9 million (-57%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 2,257 (-692)
• Per-theater average: $1,728
• Cume to date: $78.8 million
No. 9: The Legend of Zorro (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $2.3 million (-64%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 2,150 (-903)
• Per-theater average: $1,070
• Cume to date: $42.7 million
No. 10: Pride and Prejudice (Focus Features, PG)
• Gross: $2.1 million (-26%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 221 (+6)
• Per-theater average: $9,555
• Cume to date: $5.9 million
