Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

By Quinn Bender
movieset.com

Riding on its phenomenal $22-million, record-breaking midnight screening, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince roped in an astonishing domestic box office gross Wednesday of $58.4 million in 4,275 theaters. Internationally the film has made $104-million, that's 40 per cent of the movie's $250-million budget paid off on just the first day of release.

It's domestic gross crushes the success of the fifth Harry Potter film, which rolled in just $44 on its opening day. It's believed loyal Harry Potter fans, who have grown up alongside the boy magician and are now adults, contributed to the success of the midnight screening. The movie's overall day-one earnings may also have been bolstered by the anticipation buildup following it's postponed release last November.

Five-day forecasts now predict the movie will gross up to $150-million domestically.
 
Should Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince go on to earn $400-millioin more, worldwide, which industry watchers fully expect, the movie will propel Harry Potter to the highest grossing film franchise of all time, currently held by James Bond at $5-billion.