Whisper Numbers: Harry Potter is bigger than ever
After a two-year sabbatical, the teen wizard returned to theaters in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince [HPOT6]. Fans promptly greeted the new installment with a princely sum of $58.3 million on Wednesday, the fourth biggest single day ever at the box office. So much for the call of boycott when Warner Bros. pushed back the November release date last year. The delay wound up helping build the anticipation even more for the sixth film in the series. Hormones are raging at Hogwarts even as Harry, Ron and Hermione face the latest threat from Lord Voldemort. The preceding film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix also opened on a Wednesday with $44.2 million on its way to $139.7 million for its first five days. If The Half-Blood Prince were to follow the same pattern, the PG-rated film could be on its way to $184 million by Sunday. Appearing in 4325 locations, Harry Potter has a shot as the latest sequel has been met with great enthusiasm.
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs [ICEA3] should hold its own against more competition for the family audience. The animated sequel could thaw out another $14 million and maintain its second spot for a third straight weekend.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen [TFRM2] also should be able to hold its ground against the debut of another franchise film. The Autobots could fill up about $12 million and push its gauge past the $350 million mark.
Although Bruno [BRUNO] debuted in first place, the gay fashionista will not have a long shelf life. Box office for the R-rated comedy actually declined from Friday to Saturday, a rare occurrence that signaled awful word of mouth. Trying to top himself in Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen [SBCOH] went too far by some standards for shock value. Bruno will be likely be discounted more than 60% in its second weekend to under $12 million.
That’s the whisper from the trading floor.
Tag(s): HPOT6, ICEA3, TFRM2, BRUNO, SBCOH
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