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.

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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.