'Harry Potter' movie sets sights on holiday run
By David Germain
AP Movie Writer
LOS ANGELES — Just how high can Harry Potter fly?
Warner Bros. via Associated Press
After shattering box office records with a $90.3 million opening weekend, the first film about the boy wizard's adventures is expected to continue enchanting huge crowds through the holidays.
Daniel Radcliffe, playing the lead in 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,' readies his owl, Hedwig, for flight.
One of the strongest seasons for family films, the period from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day presents a sky's-the-limit opportunity for "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" to establish itself as one of the biggest franchises in Hollywood history.
Final numbers yesterday came in $3.2 million lower than distributor Warner Bros. estimated a day earlier because Sunday ticket sales were lighter than predicted. But receipts for Friday and Saturday were higher than reported Sunday as theaters updated ticket totals.
The movie was closing in on $100 million domestically after just four days. It had a chance to cross that mark yesterday, but it was more likely to reach that level today, said Warner head of distribution Dan Fellman. That would match the record set by "Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace," which hit $100 million in five days.
Box office analyst Robert Bucksbaum of Reel Source Inc. said "Harry Potter" could be pushing $200 million by the end of Thanksgiving weekend. "Phantom Menace" was the fastest film to reach that level, topping $200 million in 13 days.
Warner Bros. declined predictions on how much the film might ultimately gross. Despite the movie's 2"-hour length, the studio reported "Harry Potter" already is drawing significant repeat business, a key to reaching blockbuster status.
Fellman said he had a call from a Texas theater manager who told him a father and son came out of "Harry Potter," found out the next show wasn't yet sold out and jumped in line to see it again.
"People will be forgoing turkey on Thanksgiving to go to the movies and see 'Harry Potter,"' Bucksbaum said. "It's phenomenal. There's nothing that can stand in the way of this film. You're going to get kids seeing it over and over again, because there's a lot you can miss in 2" hours that you'll want to see again."
The movie easily broke the record for top three-day debut, bumping "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," which grossed $72.1 million in its first three days over Memorial Day weekend in 1997. "Harry Potter" even matched the $90.1 million "Lost World" rang up for the entire four-day Memorial Day weekend.
"Harry Potter" delivered the two best single-day takes ever, grossing $32.33 million Friday and $33.51 million Saturday. The previous best was "Phantom Menace" with $28.5 million on opening day in 1999. On Sunday, "Harry Potter" grossed $24.45 million.
The movie also broke box office records in Great Britain, where it grossed $22.9 million over opening weekend. That beat the previous record of $13.6 million for "Phantom Menace."
"Sorcerer's Stone" is adapted from the first book of J.K. Rowling's fantasy series about a boy magician at a school for witchcraft and wizardry. The first sequel began shooting Monday in England and is due in theaters just before next Thanksgiving.
Opening "Harry Potter" the week before Thanksgiving, Warner followed the lead of last year's "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas," which opened big and held strongly over Thanksgiving.
"The purpose of opening at Thanksgiving is to give a family film a double bite of the apple," Fellman said. "You get it at Thanksgiving, then you get it again at Christmas. The history of some of the biggest family films like 'Toy Story 2' and 'Grinch' is they rebound beautifully at Christmas time."
