Pamela McClintock of Variety:
With the midnight bow of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, the Warner Bros.' "Harry Potter" film franchise is poised to become the most magical of all time -- at least in dollars and cents.
The five previous "Harry Potter" pics have grossed $4.48 billion at the worldwide box office. That still trails the roughly $5 billion grossed by the James Bond film franchise (not accounting for inflation), but the boy wizard is expected to overtake agent 007 within the month.
The largest chunk of the franchise's total gross has come from overseas, where J.K. Rowling's book series has been translated into 67 languages.
"Half-Blood Prince" was originally set to open last November, but the studio pushed back the release. The postponement sparked an outcry from Potter fans that has morphed into pent-up demand around the world.
"Half-Blood Prince," the sixth installment in the franchise, goes out in approximately 4,300 theaters domestically and thousands more overseas in 64 territories, including every major market.
On Monday, MovieTickets.com reported 300 sold-out shows for "Half-Blood Prince" at the domestic B.O., including more than 950 midnight showings. That's more than the presales for this summer's "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."
Online ticketing service Fandango reported that "Half-Blood Prince" is the fastest seller of the year and the biggest of any Potter title.
"Order of the Phoenix," released two years ago nearly to the day, grossed $44 million on its first day at the domestic B.O., including $12 million in midnight shows. Film's five-day opening gross was $139.7 million on its way to cuming $292 million domestically and $646 million overseas.
Film marks the second Potter outing for helmer David Yates, who directed "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." He's also set to helm the final two films in the franchise, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II."....
As the Potter franchise gears up for its two part finale...Reviews for Prince seem very good indeed....As for me....I still say "Meh" to the whole thing....After trying several times to get into the whole phenomenon.
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