Harry Potter Flies High
"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" charmed audiences in its weekend debut, delivering a magical $101.4 million in ticket sales to prop up Hollywood's slumping box office.
The Johnny Cash biopic "Walk the Line" opened a distant second with $22.4 million. Disney's animated "Chicken Little," which held the top spot a week earlier, slipped to No. 3 with $14.8 million, according to Sunday estimates.
"Goblet" had the most successful opening yet for a Harry Potter movie even though it was the first to carry a PG-13 rating for its violence and special effects.
Dan Fellman, head of distribution at Warner Bros., which released "Goblet," said the results exceeded the studio's expectations. The third Potter film, "Prisoner of Azkaban," premiered last year at $93.7 million.
"As the audience has gotten older in time, faithful readers of the Potter books will remain faithful to the movies," Fellman said.
"Goblet" was the fourth-best, three-day opening weekend ever behind "Spider-Man" at $114.8 million in 2002 and "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith" and "Shrek 2," at $108 million apiece.
"Goblet" also led a lineup that helped reverse an overall dip in movie ticket sales. The top 12 films raked in $171 million, up 19 percent from the same weekend last year, when "National Treasure" was No. 1 with $35.1 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and
Canadian theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc., are:
- "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," $101.4 million
- "Walk the Line," $22.4 million
- "Chicken Little," $14.8 million
- "Derailed," $6.5 million
- "Zathura," $5.1 million
- "Jarhead," $4.8 million
- "Get Rich or Die Tryin," $4.4 million
- "Saw II," $3.9 million
- "The Legend of Zorro," $2.3 million
- "Pride & Prejudice," $2.1 million
By Alicia Chang