SATURDAY PM/SUNDAY AM: 9TH UPDATE: As Warner Bros Pictures President of Domestic Distribution Dan Fellman gushed about all the records being set, “These numbers are amazing.” Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 flew to $92.1M in the U.S. and Canada Friday (including that record-setting $43.5M from midnight showings) and $44.2M Saturday and an estimated $33.6M Sunday helped by higher 3D ticket prices. Friday crushed the record for best single-day box office, best Friday box office. But the wizards didn’t break the Saturday record of $51.3M set by 2D-only Spider-Man 3 on its second day of release. However, HP‘s franchise finale definitely shatterered the biggest 3-day weekend ever with $168.5M to beat the other gold standard 2D-only Dark Knight‘s $158.4M. And the good news just kept coming. Part 2 scored an overall CinemaScore of ‘A’.

Overseas, the franchise finale grossed $307M with 34M admissions from over 20K screens in 59 countries. That’s the biggest international opening weekend of all time ahead of $260.4M’s Pirates Of The Caribbean 4 which is a 3D-to-3D comparison. Approximately 45% of the total screen count was 3D and accounted for about 61% of the box office. Led by record-breaking grosses in the UK ($36.6M) and Australia ($26.7M), all markets have performed exceedingly well, including Germany ($25.7M), France ($23.9M) and Japan ($21.5M). Globally, it also broke the IMAX opening weekend record with a worldwide gross of $23.5M, which includes setting a new record in North America with $15.5M. That makes for a worldwide total of $475.5M, yet another record besting the previous crown holder $394M set by 2D-only Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince.

Warner Bros President of International Distribution, Veronika Kwan-Rubinek“Harry Potter is truly a cultural phenomenon the world over. Whether in German, French, Japanese, Russian, or any language, international audiences have embraced the Harry Potter films over the years, with the powerful finale punctuating just how special the property is. We congratulate everyone associated with the films on this monumental achievement.”

Added Fellman: “These numbers are amazing, but they are only part of the story. It is impossible to quantify how thrilled and grateful we all are that both critics and audiences — especially loyal Harry Potter fans — continue to support the film. This is the culmination of an extraordinary decade, and a reflection of the hard work and dedication of many, many people on both sides of the camera, beginning with the brilliant J.K. Rowling, as well as producer David Heyman. We applaud them all.”

Here’s the TOP 10:

1. Harry Potter/Hallows, Pt 2 – 3D (Warner Bros) NEW [4,375 Theaters]
Friday $92.1M, Saturday $42.8M, Weekend $168.5M
International $307M, Worldwide Cume $475.5M

2. Transformers 3 – 3D (Paramount) Week 3 [3,917 Theaters]
Friday $6.3M, Saturday $9.8M, Weekend $21.2M, Cume $302.8M

First movie of the year to gross $300M at the domestic box office.

3. Horrible Bosses (New Line/Warner Bros) Week 2 [3,134 Theaters]
Friday $5.4M, Saturday $6.9M, Weekend $17.6M (-38%), Cume $60M

Excellent hold…

4. Zookeeper (Sony) Week 2 [3,482 Theaters]
Friday $3.8M, Saturday $5.1M, Weekend $12.3M (-39%), Cume $42.3M

Great hold…

5. Cars 2 – 3D (Disney) Week 4 [3,249 Theaters]
Friday $2.4M, Saturday $3.4M, Weekend $8.3M, Cume $165.3M

After picking up another international weekend of $12.4Min release in 28 territories representing 44% of the international market, the global cume is now $311.9M.

6. Winnie The Pooh (Disney) NEW [2,405 Theaters]
Friday $2.9M, Saturday $2.6M, Weekend $8M

What a shame, considering it received an ‘A-’ CinemaScore and 91% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

7. Bad Teacher (Sony) Week 4 [2,659 Theaters]
Friday $1.6M, Saturday $2.1M, Weekend $5.2M, Cume $88.5M

8. Larry Crowne (Vendome/Universal) Week 3 [2,287 Theaters]
Friday $800K, Saturday $1.2M, Weekend $2.5M, Saturday Cume $31.6M

What a disaster. Entire domestic run probably won’t see $40M.

9. Super 8 (Paramount) Week 6 [1,459 Theaters]
Friday $545K, Saturday $800K, Cume $1.9M, Cume $122.2M

10. Midnight In Paris (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 9 [819 Theaters]
Friday $500K, Saturday $800K, Weekend $1.8M, Cume $41.7M

Woody Allen overtakes his previous best, 1986′s Hannah And Her Sisters becoming his highest grossing film of all time in North America.  This is
Allen’s 42nd feature film that he has written and directed, and his 4th film with Sony Pictures Classics. But this is also a dopey comparison since Hannah’s number is not adjusted for inflation or higher ticket prices.

FRIDAY 4 PM, 6TH UPDATE: Sources tell me that Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is already cruising past $80M for the day in North America (including that $43.5M from midnight showings). This is setting a record for largest single-day box office in motion picture history. (Previous largest day was Twilight Saga: New Moon at $72M.) Movietickets.com is reporting that Part 2 also broke ticket sales records yesterday becoming the new #1 online ticket pre-seller of all time by surging past New Moon. That’s a new global cume of $162.5M. Around the U.S., midnight showings sold out. In Lansing, Michigan, lines began at 8 PM at NCG Cinemas which pulled out all the stops for the release, from offering a week of movie marathons to special Potter-themed 3-D glasses. In turn, fans came dressed as their favorite witches and wizards. Updates throughout the night.

FRIDAY 10 AM, 5TH UPDATE: Warner Bros says the 2-day international cume for Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is now $82.5M from 43 countries after earning $37.6M Thursday and $43.6M Wednesday. Combined with the North American market of a record-breaking $43.5M midnights, that’s now a $142.7M global cume. Another phenomenal day for the pic overseas where the 3D share of the box office is approximately 61%. IMAX also reported a record breaking opening for midnights of $2M on 274 domestic locations. Meanwhile, in Orlando last night, 3,000 audience members of the midnight film screening of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 at AMC Universal Cineplex 20 with free passes to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and had the park all to themselves from 3 to 5 AM.

Comparing same days and same foreign markets, Part 2 is 39% higher than Part 1. Highlights include Korea which opened to an enormous Won 3.3B ($3M) from 562 screens, including Wednesday previews; Argentina Ps 3.9M ($961K) from 253 screens / 3D share 43% for the biggest opening ever. On its second day of release: France: €3.4M (US$4.8M) from 1,195 screens for 2-day cume to date of €8.5M ($11.9M); Australia: A$4M ($4.2M) from 754 screens / 3D share 59% for 2-day cume to date of A$11.0M ($11.7M) which is the first time ever a film has grossed in excess of A$10Million in just 2 days; Germany: €3.0M (US$4.2Mm) from 1,641 screens / 3D share 69% for 2-day cume of €6.6M ($9.5M); and Russia Rbl 110M ($3.9M) from 1,561 screens / 3D share 72% for a 2-day cume of Rbl 228M ($8.1M). All the remaining territories of the 59-country release open today, including Spain, the UK, Japan, Brazil and Mexico.

FRIDAY 8:30 AM, 4TH UPDATE: Warner Bros said today that Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 grossed $43.5M last night from 3,800 North American locations helped by higher 3D ticket prices, shattering the previous midnight screenings record of $30M set by Twilight Saga: Eclipse which was only a 2D movie. IMAX set another record midnight of $2M for the 3D franchise finale helpe. The franchise finale also scored 97% positive on Rotten Tomatoes. “Records will fly out the window this weekend,” a studio exec is predicting. “All 3D theaters sold out to excellent reactions.”

THURSDAY 6:30 PM, 3RD UPDATE: My sources have the latest box office numbers for Warner Bros’ Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2. Domestically, $45 million has been  collected already in pre-sales for this opening North America weekend, including $27M for tonight’s 3,000+ midnight screenings which could reach $40M alone. Internationally, $43.6 million has been added from the 24 of 59 countries where the franchise finale opened Wednesday. Another 19 nations debut the movie Thursday but that figure won’t be available until tomorrow. By Friday, the film will playing in an additional 16 territories as well as in 4,575 theaters in the U.S. and Canada. What these numbers mean is that Warner Bros is on track to break its own Dark Knight domestic opening 3-day weekend record of $158M. Helped by Harry Potter – Part 2‘s higher 3D ticket prices, the new pic could reach $180M. ”Midnights and Friday will be huge,” a rival studio exec tells me. “The only question will be how front-loaded they are and where they end up. A lot of the international openings Wednesday were records so the total foreign will be huge as well.”

Right now I’m told that advance sales numbers and midnight screening numbers are changing ever 1/2 hour. Theater owners are just starting to record and report tickets purchased for tonight. As of 4 PM, Warner Bros had 1,800 theaters reporting $27M, but 3,000 will be playing the movie starting midnight so many theaters have yet to provide numbers. And then there are the projected walk-ins. It’s clear that this Harry Potter sign-off will set a midnight record, bigger than the previous record-holder Twilight Saga: Eclipse which scored $30M.

Another record to fall will be the biggest single day ever, set by Twilight Saga: New Moon with $72M. Warner Bros thinks it’s possible for $40M midnights and $40M Friday for an $80M single best day. I’m told the big theater circuits like AMC and Regal have already sold out midnight screenings and are adding 3 AM showings. Some are even scheduling round-the-clock releasing all weekend. ”People have just been coming out of the woodwork,” a Warner Bros exec marveled to me. “What this really tells you is that our busines is alive and healthy and the old cliche is true: make good movies and they will show up.”

The biggest foreign weekend opening was the recent Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides‘ $260M this summer. Warner Bros expects Harry Potter – Part 2 to demolish that. Harder will be shattering the biggest worldwide opening set by the recent Transformers: Dark Of The Moon over a 7-day period: $402M. Speaking of international, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 opened to $43.6m in 26 countries on Wednesday by scoring 65% of its take from 3D. Part 2 is running 82% higher than Part 1. Territory highlights include:

Australia: A$ 7.0M (US$7.5M) from 727 screens / 3D share 58.5%
biggest opening day ever, including biggest midnight sneaks
France: €5.1M (US$7.1M) from 1,195 screens / 3D share 67%
all time biggest Wednesday opening
Germany: €3.6M (US$5.3M) from 1,641 screens / 3D share 77%
biggest preview result Ever
Italy: €3.3m (US$4.6M) from 988 screens / 3D share 57%
biggest opening day ever
Russia: Rbl 115M (US$4.1M) from 1,561 screens / 3D share 66%
biggest WB opening day ever
Sweden: L/C 13.6M (US$2.1M) from 226 screens / 3D share 76%
biggest opening day ever
Norway: L/C 10.2M (US$1.8M) from 259 screens / 3D share 76%
biggest opening day ever
Holland: €1.2M (US$1.7M) from 233 screens / 3D share 83%
biggest opening day ever
Denmark: L/C 8.7M (US$1.6M) from 162 screens / 3D share 73%
biggest opening day ever
Belgium: €1.0M (US$1.4M) from 132 screens / 3D share 49%
biggest opening day ever
Finland: €534k (US$749K) from 140 screens / 3D share 75%
biggest opening day ever

But there was a glitch for Harry Potter – Part 2 in India. I’ve confirmed that Warner Bros International was having trouble reaching a deal with multiplexes there as of Wednesday night. The multiplexes wanted a 55% cut of the film’s profits. So the new film was just going to play on single screened theaters. But the studio just told me it supplied prints and digital drives to the multiplexes on Thursday India time.

THURSDAY AM, 2ND UPDATE: Sources tell me that Warner Bros as of 7 AM already has $13M in ticket sales for tonight’s midnight shows for the finale Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2.

WEDNESDAY PM UPDATE: My sources say Warner Bros’ Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 opened internationally with record-breaking sneaks in Australia (2.5M from 273 sites), Germany (1.8M from 563 sites), France $1.1M from 317 screens), Benelux, and Scandinavia. The 3D share of box office is averaging between 70% and 90%. IMAX also had record breaking numbers. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 has already broken several North American ticket records in the two days leading up to the series finale’s mega-release on Friday. Dan Fellman, President of Warner Bros Pictures Domestic Distribution, said advance ticket sales have skyrocketed to more than $32 million, a new pre-opening record. Many midnight and first-day show times are already sold out across the country and the studio keeps arranging with exhibitors for more and more screenings beyond the 3,800 locations opening at midnight Thursday. In total by Friday, the last pic will play on more than 11,000 screens in 4,375 locations — both marking records for the Harry Potter series.

Breaking another industry record, the film is being released on 274 IMAX screens nationwide. The very first Harry Potter movie to be released in 3D, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 will be shown in 3D at more than 3,000 locations. The studio has arranged for special commemorative Harry Potter 3D glasses to be given free to fans attending select 3D midnight showings while supplies last.

Fellman issued this statement: “We appreciate the loyalty of Harry Potter fans and understand that they have been waiting 10 years for this moment. We can’t wait to show them the movie, which we believe delivers on every level, so we are putting the film out on as many screens as possible in an effort to satisfy demand from coast to coast. We want to ensure that fans who have been counting down to the finale will have every chance to see it, early and often, and we hope that they will take advantage of the opportunity to watch all their favorite characters in 3D for the first time, which is an experience not-to-be-missed.”

By Wednesday morning, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part II had already become both Fandango’s and MovieTickets.com’s top ticket-seller of 2011 with 48 hours to spare before its North American release. The Harry Potter franchise finale has already sold out more than 5,000 showtimes across the country before its official Friday opening, and U.S. theater owners keep adding screenings to keep up with fan demand in all 50 states.

MovieTickets.com reports its records are shattering in advance of opening day and, when compared with other films in the Harry Potter film franchise: pre-sales for Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 are 38% higher than Part 1 three days prior to opening. The pic is trending to become the all-time #2 pre-seller in Fandango’s 11-year history, following only 2009′s The Twilight Saga: New Moon. This final adventure is currently conjuring up 91% of Fandango’s daily ticket sales. “It’s our fastest-selling movie of the year and our best-selling Potter movie of all time,” Fandango EVP and General Manager Rick Butler says in a statement. “The first Potter helped put advance ticketing on the map in 2001, so it’s fitting that the grand finale would break records with fans on our Web site and mobile applications.”

This weekend, the franchise finale opens in a total 59 countries on 19,500 screens. As of Wednesday, it’s in 24 countries, including Italy and Russia. Thursday, it opens in an additional 19 nations, including Korea. And Friday, it debuts in an additional 16 territories, including Spain, the UK, Japan, Brazil and Mexico. China opens on August 4th. (All box office from midnight sneaks will be included in the opening Wednesday numbers once they are in.)

WEDNESDAY AM, BREAKING NEWS… I’ve learned that Warner Bros is giving Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 a mega-release into 4,375 theaters and over 11,000 screens in North America alone on Friday. This will make it the widest domestic Harry Potter release of all time. The film will be shown in 3,000 3D locations, which constitutes a motion picture industry record, and on 4,250 3D screens. It will play at 274 IMAX venues, another industry record, as well as 120 Premium Large Format cinemas, also an industry record, and 270 drive-ins, another industry record. When the pic opens at Thursday midnight, Part II will be playing in at least 3,800 theaters. But I’m told that number is climbing by the hour. Already Warner Bros anticipates 300 Harry Potter marathons playing all seven of the movies ending at midnight Thursday with the 8th unreeling. There are 1,100 theaters planning to play HP 7A into 7B that midnight. “We are positioned to exceed the largest Harry Potter opening box office of all time,” a Warner Bros top exec tells me confidently. Remember, it’s already the largest-grossing franchise in motion picture history.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is the last adventure in the Harry Potter film series. In the epic finale, the battle between the good and evil forces of the wizarding world escalates into an all-out war, with Harry Potter in the climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson reprise their roles as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Part 2 was directted by David Yates and produced by David Heyman, David Barron and J.K. Rowling. Steve Kloves adapted the screenplay, based on Rowling’s novel. Lionel Wigram is the executive producer.

Now where did Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1 leave off?

Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.

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