Box Office: Final 'Harry Potter' Film Grosses Mammoth $43.6 Million Overseas on First Day

Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is already doing massive business overseas, grossing $43.6 million on Wednesday from 26 countries.

The stats are staggering. Deathly Hallows 2  is running 82 percent ahead of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, and 49 percent ahead of the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Deathly Hallows 2 has a good chance of scoring the biggest bow of all time at the worldwide box office, supplanting current record holder Half-Blood Prince, which opened to $394 million.

Deathly Hallows 2 is the first title in the franchise to be in 3D, upping the earning potential. So far, the 3D share internationally is a robust 65%. IMAX theaters also are seeing record business.

Unlike in North America, movies open on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday overseas, depending upon the market.
Countries where films launch Wednesday include France, Australia and Russia. That’s followed by a slew of other markets on Thursday, including Germany ad Korea.

By Friday, Deathly Hallows 2 will be playing in almost every corner of the globe, save for China, where it opens Aug. 4.

In Australia and Italy, Deathly Hallows 2 scored the biggest opening day of all time at $7 million (including midnight sneaks) and $4.6 million, respectively, while in France, it nabbed the largest Wednesday launch ever with $7.1 million. The movie also scored the biggest opening day of all time in Norway, Holland, Denmark, Belgium and Finland.

In North America, the movie opens in 3,800 midnight runs at 12:01 a.m. Friday, with $25 million tickets already sold as of 11 p.m. PST.

Deathly Hallows 2 is already the top midnight seller of all time for online ticketing service Fandango. MovieTickets.com also reports record business.