International Top of the Chart - Half-Blood Prince is the New King
July 22, 2009
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince opened in first place on the international market with $183.35 million on 12,797 screens in 53 markets over the weekend for a total of $237.10 million after five days of release. That's the biggest international opening ever, while its worldwide total of $395.12 million is also a record topping Spider-man 3's record of $382 million. So far the film is just $10 million behind its reported total budget ($250 million for production and $155 million for worldwide P&A) and it is well on its way to profitability.
The film's best opening came from the U.K., no surprise there, with $32.64 million on 584 screens, which it was equally impressive in Germany with $23.97 million on 831 screens. (Germany is a smaller market than the U.K., but in both cases it was like opening with roughly $200 million here.) In France the film sold 2.88 million tickets generating a calculated $23.89 million over the weekend. The film earned $10.49 million on 844 screens in Japan over the weekend and has $18.16 million in that market already. Australia generated $11.62 million on 510 screens over the weekend and $15.17 million in total.
The film just made it past $10 million in Italy with $13.17 million, but that's over five days; over the weekend it only made $6.85 million on 890 screens. However, it is important to note that summer is the weakest season for the box office in Italy, as culturally a lot of people prefer spending their days outside. In Spain it earned $5.63 million on 586 screens over the weekend and $9.85 million in total. In Mexico it made $6.63 million on 1009 screens over the weekend, but $9.40 million in total. (This does suggest it will have better legs in that market.) South Korea brought in $6.68 million on 824 screens over the weekend and $9.36 million in total, but this is not a market know for strong legs regardless. In Russia it managed $9.04 million on 915 screens over the weekend, but that includes Thursday, which is normally considered part of the week.
Its performances in midlevel markets were equally impressive with the film making $4.85 million on 728 screens over the weekend in Brazil and $8.33 million in total. If films can continue to perform like that in this market, it won't be considered midlevel for long. In Holland it earned $3.60 million on 215 screens over the weekend and $4.95 million in total, while in neighboring Belgium it made $3.29 million on 143 screens. Switzerland generated $2.62 million in revenue, including $2.07 million on 149 screens over the weekend. In Scandinavia the film was strongest in Sweden with $2.06 million on 204 screens over the weekend and $3.59 million in total. Denmark added $3.18 million on 105 to its international coffers, all from the weekend. In Norway the film earned $2.37 million on 109 screens, while in Finland it made $1.12 million over five days, including $984,000 on 82 screens over the weekend. Finally in New Zealand the film made $1.57 million on 93 markets over the weekend and $2.05 million in total.
The film has yet to open in a few smaller markets of note, like Poland and Greece, but for the most part it will be coasting on holdovers from now on. That said, if its legs are as good as its reviews, it could hit $1 billion worldwide.
We will get to Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs, and the rest of the million dollar hits over the weekend.
Filed under: International Box Office, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince