Jul 15 2009 04:58 PM ET

'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' breaks midnight record

Categories: Movies, News

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince grossed an eye-popping $22.2 million from its midnight showings early Wednesday morning, according to figures released by Hollywood.com. That breaks the $18.5 million midnight record previously held by last year's smash The Dark Knight, and it's well ahead of the $16 million Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen grossed in its midnight showings earlier this summer. If these magical numbers hold up, Half-Blood could have a shot at topping The Dark Knight's $203.8 million five-day opening-weekend record as well.

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  • nervz

    First Bruno now Harry Potter. What a $hitty month for movies…

  • Colin

    This movie is excellent and deserves all of the money it makes. I wouldn’t be surprised to see lots of repeat business with this.

  • nervz

    First Bruno now Harry Potter. What a $h!tty month for movies.

  • Nick

    Hell yeah + it’s still getting a perfect 100% rating on CrazyCritics.com !!!

  • Danielle

    I was thoroughly tempted to go to the drive-in theatre’s midnight showing, but logic & reasoning & being a ‘responsible adult who shows up to work on time’ won out.

  • Officer Farva

    Actually, Transformers 2 and Terminator whatever set the bar for sh!tty movies.
    Bruno rules (and IS the dirtiest comedy ever) and Harry Potter cannot be worse than another Michael Bay movie.

  • Is it really that good …

    … or are people just desperate after the crappy movies like Transformers and Bruno this summer?

  • Jane

    HBP deserves all the money!
    I’m definitely going to see it again!

  • Jim

    This is a good not great movie which I do not think will have great momentum going forward when audiences learn that there is much less action in the movie than was found in the book.

  • babykakes

    i went to the midnight movie last night. i have been a huge harry potter fan since the series first started but i was truly disappointed in the movie. The HBP really goes into detail about voldermort and i think the movie was centered more on who like who. They also added things that were not in the book!! i am not going to see this one again and i only hope the last installments will be better than this one!!!

  • Katherine

    I agree with babykakes. This was truly the weakest Harry Potter yet. Hopefully they redeem themselves on the next one.

  • Samantha LeAnne

    I saw it this morning and whereas it is a good movie with fantastic performances (I must applaud Tom Felton especially), it is not a great movie. As a fan of the books, they left out A LOT and a lot of major things, not to mention they reworked scenes that didn’t need to be reworked and added things that didn’t make sense, and that left me feeling a bit put off. But cinematically it is a quite beautiful film, and the actors/actresses gave some of the best performances of their careers so far and I do hope they get it right with the movies for the 7th book.

  • Eve

    I went to the midnight screening, it was crazy! It definitely was the best of the Potter films so far in my opinion though, I wouldn’t be surprised if it beat Dark Knight, especially with it’s PG rating.

  • Potter The Crusher

    I love all the Harry Potter books and movies so far. But from what I heard at work today from people that went to the midnight show and still made it to work, it doesn’t sound like the movie is going to have strong legs to sustain the big opening it will definitely acheive in its initial hit. First, I was told the movie is a solid three hours and there’s not nearly as much action as there was in previous Potter films. But the biggest momentum killer in the end may be that there are some changes that won’t thrill avid Potter readers and fans. Yes there will be a huge opening but the party may be short and sweet. I’m just glad it came out in time to help Transformers and Ice Age finish killing off Bruno. (Ha Ha)

  • Mina

    I think they toned down the action for this one because they wanted the most action to be In the last Two.
    So, I think that they’ll really BRING it in the next films.
    Please, go and see it folks!
    Or go see it again!
    Deathly Hallows will probably be the most expensive HP flick!
    WB can use the money!!

  • Krista

    I think that this film was amazing. But, to be honest, I think that the incredibly high gross can partly be explained by the fact that this one is a summer release (unlike many of the other HP films), and they delayed the release of this film for quite some time, thus increasing anticipation.

  • mike

    they toned down the “Action” because out of all 7 books, it has the least amount of action in it. its supposed to be about the story of voldemorts past, which this movie was severly lacking in. they spent too much time concentrating on the romance aspect of the story, and they didnt even do that right. one of the things i wanted to see most was the seige at hogwarts between the deatheaters and teachers/students as malfoy was in the tower with dumbledore. other than the ommissions of most of the important details of voldemots past (like his attempt at the DADA post) and the adding of unnecessary footage (the weasly house fire scene) i still liked it.

  • doublecore

    I saw the movie at 12:01 on wed. It was great however i wish they would have kept the battle at the school and the first kiss just like the book. Why take that stuff out and add somthing not in the book ?

  • maskedavenger

    Bring down the Dark Knight!

  • Sri

    David Yates (director) did a superb job just magnificent to watch, may be Alfonso Cuarón would have made them ROCK. I am a great fan of Harry Potter series. My favorite still remains HP3: Prisoner of Azkaban. But Half Blood was simply outstanding on levels. I’ll be seeing it again Saturday on IMAX which will be even better as it’s one of the original IMAX screens that loom up and over the audience as opposed to newer screens that are just big.
    Being a great fan I have collected a list of good sites and articles (may be around 200) related to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (movie information, movie schedule, movie reviews, books, games, news, wallpapers and many more). If you are interested take a look at the below link
    http://markthispage.blogspot.com/2009/07/all-you-want-to-know-about-harry-potter.html

  • Lola

    Saw “HP and the HBP” today! Loved it! I can’t stand knowing that the “HP” movies will soon be over. Only 2 more left. This makes me so depressed. I have looked forward to, and loved these stories and movies so much. I sure hope J.K. Rowling has something equally as entertaining in mind for the future. Make that, the NEAR future. “HP withdrawals are sooo bad!

  • Didi

    And this is why Harry Potter is far superior to Twilight!!!! I fully rest my case now:)

  • Anojan A.K.A Jay

    Harry Potter tops all even with a long gap and wieght

  • matt

    re: Mina’s “WB can use the money”: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

  • hope

    I knew HP would win the day from the boring shoot em’ up Transformers and that trash they call a comedy Bruno.

  • chuck

    Harry Potter clearly has the biggest front loaded audience in movies. Still it will peak out at $275 million overall. Thats my guess. Great but not summers best.
    That title will go to the awful Transformers 2.
    http://blog.entertainmenttodayandbeyond.com/

  • dina

    I just found him on _____LovingRich D0t C*O*M________.It’s for beauti-ful and weal-thy people. Is he sin*gle again???
    His profile says he’s looking for both nice girl and handsome man. Is he really gay or bi?

  • mary_annabel

    not surprising. this definitely attracts more people not just the fan of the books.
    &honestly why does anyone have to bring up twilight!?!
    im sorry but i honestly don’t see any similarities between the 2 series…
    i think both are AMAZING in their own ways. each has something the other doesn’t.

  • hpfan

    It really depends what you want in a movie. If you like a comedy,romance, and a little bit of adventure, this movie is for you. If you like adventure and magic you would prefer any other Potter film. I love the Goblet of Fire so much because it mixes action and romance well! To me, and I really hate to admit it because I love Harry Potter, this movie was arguably the worst. However, I loved the book!

  • mary_annabel

    not surprising. this definitely attracts more people not just the fan of the books.
    &honestly why does anyone have to bring up twilight!?!
    im sorry but i honestly don’t see any similarities between the 2 series…
    i think both are AMAZING in their own ways. each has something the other doesn’t.

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