We all knew it was going to be huge but Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2 broke every record in the book this weekend. Starting with the Thursday midnight grosses the final Harry Potter film broke the record previously set by The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Potter brought in a smashing $43 million just from midnight showings alone. The record breaking continued into Friday when the movie beat the opening day record (also previously held by New Moon) with $91 million. By the end of the weekend Harry Potter 7 beat The Dark Knight for the opening weekend record. TDK held the record since 2008 with $158 million but the Hogwarts wizards topped that with $169 million.

As I previously mentioned, we all knew this film was going to be huge but even I am surprised by just how much business this movie pulled in. The big question is can Harry Potter keep em’ coming to the theater? Having an opening weekend of $169 million is impressive, but being able to maintain the big numbers in week two will really set this film up for even more record breaking success. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 1 ended its run with $295 million in domestic receipts. Part 2 will easily be able to top that but could it potentially break even more records?

Currently the highest grossing film of all time is James Cameron’s Avatar with $749 million, followed by James Cameron’s Titanic which grossed $600 million. I think Harry Potter will have a hard time catching up to Cameron’s movies but could Potter top The Dark Knight? Christopher Nolan’s superhero movie The Dark Knight sit at number three with $533 million. That could be a more attainable goal.

That is my opinion – what do you think?

Box Office numbers courtesy of Box Office Mojo

As predicted Warner Brother’s Green Lantern topped the weekend box office with a less than impressive $52.6 million. Now you are probably asking yourself how that much money for an opening weekend is not considered impressive. However, Green Lantern is a $200 million film that is going to be hard pressed to make those dollars back. Compared to other films which have opened this summer, Green Lantern should have opened much higher. Unlike Thor and X-Men: First Class, GL has a well known star with Ryan Reynolds, who may not be a box office champion, but the name recognition is definitely there.

As we reported yesterday Green Lantern had a Friday opening of $21.6 million. In comparison Marvel’s Thor opened with $66 million back in May and X-Men: First Class had a $55 million opening earlier this month. X-Men: First Class did not bring in the kind of box office numbers the previous X-Men films have achieved, but First Class was well reviewed. You can’t have it all can you? Green Lantern is certified rotten according to Rotten Tomatoes where the film is tracking at 25%.

So what does this mean for the future of Green Lantern? I would expect a significant decline in next weekends box office numbers as word of mouth will spread that this film is a dud. How did the rest of the weekend box office end up?

Last weekends number one film Super 8 held on strong with $21.2 million in weekend number two. That brings J.J Abrams’ latest film to a total of $72.7 million. For a film with a budget of only $50 million, those are good numbers.

The other new wide release this weekend belonged to Jim Carrey’s new children’s movie Mr. Popper’s Penguins which debuted at $18.2 million. This is a low opening for Carrey who’s film is even based on a popular children’s book.

Rounding out the top five were X-Men: First Class (#4) which added another $11.5 million to its box office run. That gives the Marvel mutants a total of $119.9 million and counting. The Hangover Part II took the fifth spot with $9.6 million. After 4 weeks in release The Wolfpack have grossed $232 million which stands as the summers top movie so far.

1. Green Lantern – $52.68m
2. Super 8 – $21.25m – $72.78m
3. Mr. Popper’s Penguins - $18.2m
4. X-Men: First Class – $11.5m – $119.92m
5. The Hangover Part II - $9.63m – $232.67m
6. Kung Fu Panda 2 – $8.7m – $143.34m
7. Bridesmaids - $7.48m – $136.84m
8. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – $6.2m – $220.3m
9. Midnight in Paris – $5.23m – $21.79m
10. Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer – $2.24m – $11.16m

Box Office reports via Box Office Mojo

Defying less than stellar reviews, DC Comics and Warner Brothers should have a strong weekend performer with Green Lantern. Kicking off the weekend with $21.6 million (that includes the $3.4 million it made for Thursday midnights), the superhero film starring Ryan Reynolds should see a weekend total between $50-60 million.

How do those numbers stack up to the other two comic book movies which have already graced the silver screen? Thor kicked off the summer movie season with an opening weekend gross of $66 million. Opening day numbers exceeded that of Green Lantern as the Marvel superhero hit $25.7 million in one day. X-Men: First Class arrived in theaters a few weeks ago to the sum of $55 million Friday-Sunday with an opening day total of $21 million. It looks like Green Lantern is on the path towards similar numbers, however GL has to deal with negative reviews, while X-Men: First Class was loved by just about everyone.

With a summer filled with superhero films like Thor, X-Men: First Class, and the upcoming Captain America film, Green Lantern has a major battle to be successful. This is a crowded summer of popular films that include Transformers 3 and the final Harry Potter film all which are hitting theaters in the next 4 weeks.

While poor reviews may deter some viewers from checking out Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan/ Green Lantern, the film will undoubtedly pull in strong numbers opening weekend as comic book fanboys will surely flock to see how the films stacks up. Unfortunately for Warner Brothers they have a $200 million budget to recoup and a $50 million opening weekend is just the beginning. To make the money the film needs, it will have to grow some legs, which if this crowded summer lineup is any indication, you gotta open big or go home.

Box Office numbers courtesy of Box Office Mojo

What’s Halloween without yet another Saw movie opening in theaters? This time around Saw went 3D and for it’s seventh outing, the horror movie opened to a mild $22.5 million. That is better than Saw VI which last year debuted with a weak $14 million and went on to only gross $27.6 million. The Saw franchise is a mystery to me. What began as a very simple concept: two men trapped in a bathroom, chained to wall, with a sadistic killer manipulating their every move, has gone so over-the-top that it isn’t even the same type of film it began as. I enjoyed the first Saw for how original it was but the franchise progressively became worse and worse as each movie hit theaters. It is a box office draw though, and with Saw VII supposed to be the final chapter, it wouldn’t surprise me if we witnessed a Saw VII in the near future (as in next October.)

Saw VII was the only major new release this weekend but other films like Paranormal Activity 2 and Red held up strong in week 2 and 3 respectively.

Last weeks number one film Paranormal Activity 2 dropped 59.4% in week 2 yet still grossed a strong $16.5 million. With a budget of only $3 million PA 2 has grossed $65.6 million to date.

Number three spot went to Red which brought in another $10 million this weekend. After three weeks the action movie starring Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, and John Malkovich has earned $58.9 million.

Jackass 3D dropped to number four with another $8.4 million which pushes its gross over the hundred million dollar mark. After three weeks the boys of Jackass have earned an impressive $101.6 million.

Rounding out the top five was Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter which earned $6.3 million. The supernatural film starring Matt Damon has earned $22.2 million yet has an estimated budget of $50 million.

Below is a list of the top ten movies at the U.S Box Office for the weekend of October 29th-31st.

Box office numbers courtesy of BoxOfficeMojo.com

Looks like that little “Facebook movie” had a bunch of fans this week as David Fincher’s The Social Network grossed a modest $23 million at the U.S box office. Expectations put the film about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in the $20 million range. As one of the best reviewed films of the year, The Social Network should hold up very well next weekend with positive word of mouth from those who have seen the film. I have seen the film once (read my glowing review here) and can’t wait to watch it again. Rotten Tomatoes has certified the film fresh with a 97% rating and if there was ever an “it” movie for the moment. This is hands down the one to watch.

So how did the rest of the weekend box office look?

Two other wide releases arrived in theaters this weekend. Matt Reeve’s Let Me In and Case 39 starring Renee Zellweger and Bradley Cooper. Both horror films failed to find an audience. Let Me In has received critical acclaim (read Jordan’s review of the film) but only managed to gross $5.3 million for a number 8 finish while Case 39 took the number 7 spot and $5.4 million. Although it is now October it looks like moviegoers aren’t ready for horror movies or they are waiting for the big ones like Saw 3D and Paranormal Activity 2.

Last week’s number one film, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps dropped to number three with $10.1 million. After two weeks in release the Oliver Stone sequel has grossed $35.9 million.

The number two spot went to the 3D animated movie Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole which fell on 32% in week number two and brought in $10.9 million. The epic tale of Owls (yeah that really is the best way to describe the film) has made $30 million to date yet has an $80 million budget.

Rounding out the top five was The Town and Easy A which earned $10 million and $7 million respectively.

Below is a chart for the weekend box office for the weekend of October 1st-3rd.

Four new major releases hit theaters this weekend. Director Ben Affleck’s The Town came out on top with $23.8 million. A very strong opening weekend for the Boston set crime thriller that stars Affleck along with Jeremy Renner, Blake Lively, and Jon Hamm. Also opening strong is the teen comedy Easy A, starring Superbad’s Emma Stone, the coming of age story was a critical success and performed better than expected. Devil however opened much farther down in third place with $12 million. From producer M. Night Shyamalan, Devil should drop off pretty quick in the coming weeks. Kind of like Shyamalan’s career.The other wide release was the animated kids movie Alpha and Omega about some talking wolves or something. It made $9.1 million for the number five spot if you care to know.

The rest of the weekend box office looked like this:

Last weeks top film Resident Evil: Afterlife dropped like a rock making $10 million after a 62.5% drop. After two weeks the fourth film in the Resident Evil franchise has grossed $43.8 million

Number six went to Takers, the crime thriller that stars Paul Walker and Chris Brown earned another $3 million. Total gross after four weeks is $52.3 million. So, do you think we will be seeing a Takers 2?

George Clooney’s The American took the number seven spot with $2.6 million and now $32.7 million to date.

The Other Guys (no.8) made another $1.9 million as it winds down its run after passing $100 million.

The nine and ten spot went to Inception and Machete respectively. Inception hit another $1.9 million and Machete fizzled with $1.7 million and only $24 million to date.

Below is a list of the top ten movies in North America for the weekend of September 17-19.

The three day holiday weekend didn’t bring in too many moviegoers as the selection of films was less than spectacular. Labor Day weekend is typically a slower holiday weekend, but you know it is lackluster when the number one movie only grosses $13.1 million. Opening on Wednesday, George Clooney’s The American, a dramatic tale of a foreign assassin, brought in $16.2 million total. The film received mix results from critics, and a less than stellar response from audiences who from what I hear, were bored to death with the slow pacing, and lack of action.

Here is what the rest of the holiday weekend looked like at the box office:

The number two movie was Robert Rodriguez’ action-packed movie Machete which struggled to find an audience. Only grossing $11.4 million, Machete was not a popular choice for moviegoers this weekend.

Last weekends number one film, Takers, fell 46% for a number three finish. Making $10.9 million, the heist thriller starring Paul Walker has earned a strong $37.3 million in two weeks. Not bad for a movie which had a budget of only $32 million.

Number four belonged to the horror flick The Last Exorcism which fell 63% in week number two earning $7.4 million. After two weeks ‘Exorcism’ has earned $32 million, which is exceptional seeing as the movie was made for less than $2 million.

The other new wide release this weekend was the Drew Barrymore, Justin Long romantic comedy Going the Distance which failed to, well, go the distance. With only $6.9 million, I guess nobody really cared to see the real life, on again, off again couple on the big screen.

Here is a full list of the top ten film at the U.S box office:

Box Office number courtesy of Box Office Mojo

For now, this weekend was a neck-to-neck race between the heist thriller Takers and the horror movie The Last Exorcism. Final numbers will not be in until Monday morning, but for now the estimates show Last Exorcism as the number one movie with $20.3 million and Takers very close behind with $20 million. The other new release this weekend was the re-release of Avatar with extended footage. Avatar added another $4 million for a number 12 opening. Not as good as many anticipated, but let’s not forget: everyone has already seen Avatar at least once.

The top five of the weekend box office looked like this:

Dropping to number three this week (after two weeks at number one) is Stallone’s The Expendables which grossed another $9.5 million. After three weeks of release The Expendables has earned $82 million.

Number four went to Julia Robert’s Eat Pray Love which made another $7 million bringing its total to $60 million.

The comedy The Other Guys starring Will Ferrel and Mark Whalberg rounded out the top five with $6.6 million. After four weeks of release this comedy from director Adam McKay has almost earned $100 million. With $99.3 million in the bank, The Other Guys is definitely a summer hit.

Check out the top ten films at the U.S Box Office for the weekend of August 27-29th:

What is even more impressive is that Toy Story 3′s worldwide gross just crossed the $1 billion mark. And surprisingly this is the second film Disney has had this year cross $1 billion worldwide. The first time in history any studio has had two films in the same year reach this level of success. The first film was Alice in Wonderland, which opened in theaters this past March and grossed $334 million domestically and over $1 billion worldwide.

Disney has had a stellar summer. Hopefully they can keep that run up as we enter the fourth quarter and studios begin to scramble to push out their Oscar contenders. Can any of the other movies this fall make this kind of money? Guess we will have to wait and see.

Below is the official press release from Disney:

DISNEY•PIXAR’S TOY STORY 3 WILL CROSS $1 BILLION TODAY; DISNEY TO BECOME FIRST STUDIO WITH TWO $1 BILLION FILMS IN ONE YEAR

BURBANK, Calif. – August 27, 2010 – Two weeks after becoming the highest-grossing animated film of all time, Disney•Pixar’s Toy Story 3 will cross the $1 billion mark at the global box office today,  joining Alice in Wonderland as the second $1 billion film this year from The Walt Disney Studios – the first studio in history to accomplish this feat.  Disney first crossed the $1 billion threshold with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest in 2006.  Toy Story 3 becomes the only animated film to reach this milestone and the seventh title in industry history.

“It’s been an incredible year as we saw the Pixar team bring Buzz and Woody back to the big screen and watched Tim Burton’s vision for Alice in Wonderland take the world by storm,” said Rich Ross, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios.  “These box office triumphs prove that creative storytelling brought to life by imaginative, inspired and talented professionals is something audiences respond to the world over.”

As of Thursday (8/26/10), Toy Story 3 tallied more than $592.9 million internationally, Disney’s largest international animated release. Latin American audiences have contributed $138 million making Toy Story 3 the highest grossing Disney film ever released in the region.  Toy Story 3 is the most successful UK release in Disney history and currently stands as the fourth biggest title in territory history with $102.4 million in box office receipts so far.  In Japan, the film has taken in $111.2 million and spent five consecutive weeks as the #1 movie.  Toy Story 3 currently ranks as the #7 film in global box office history and domestically ranks #9 with $404.6 million in receipts to date.

Alice in Wonderland began setting records during its opening weekend (March 5-7), becoming the biggest March opening in industry history, the highest 3D opening ever and The Walt Disney Studios’ biggest opening for a non-sequel film.  Internationally, the film went on to tally more than $690 million, becoming Disney’s biggest overseas release of all time and the fourth biggest title ever released overseas.  Worldwide, the film took in $1.0243 billion, ranking it as the #5 film in global box office history.

Alice in Wonderland was finally defeated at the weekend box office by Dreamwork’s animated feature How to Train Your Dragon. Alice had dominated the top spot for three weeks making over $290 million and becoming the years highest grossing film thus far. The higher ticket prices for 3D features certainly helped Alice bank the cash it has since it opened, and these same ticket prices are to thank for How to Train Your Dragon’s $43.3 million opening weekend. While not as high as Alice’s $117 million opening, Dragon did make enough to secure the number one spot, but with Clash of the Titans hitting theaters next week (in 3D also) it may not have a very long run at the number one spot. For a full breakdown of the weekend box office continue reading.

Falling to the number two spot this weekend was Alice in Wonderland which managed to rake in another $17.3 million bringing its three week total to a whopping $293.1 million. Alice has become the highest grossing film for director Tim Burton, and by next weekend the film will have crossed the $300 million mark in domestic box office tickets.

The other new wide release this weekend was the comedy Hot Tub Time Machine starring John Cusack which performed below expectations with only $13.6 million for opening weekend. With fairly positive reviews, the comedy didn’t draw in a Hangover kind of audience, despite the comedic comparisons. After seeing Hot Tub Time Machine, I can tell you that it is no Hangover.

The number four spot went to The Bounty Hunter starring Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler. With another $12.4, Bounty Hunter has only managed to pull in $38.8 million.

Last weeks surprise success is the number five movie this week. The kids movie Diary of a Whimpy Kid made $10 million which gives the flick a total of $35 million. Not bad for a budget of only $15 million.

Below is a list of the top ten highest grossing films at the North American box office for the weekend of March 26-28th

1. How To Train Your Dragon- $43,300,000; $43,300,000

2. Alice In Wonderland- $17,300,000; $293,100,000

3. How Tub Time Machine- $13,650,000; $13,650,000

4. The Bounty Hunter- $12,400,000; $38,812,000

5. Diary Of A Wimpy Kid- $10,000,000; $35,776,000

6. She’s Out Of My League- $3,526,000; $25,601,000

7. Green Zone- $3,350,000; $30,440,000

8. Shutter Island- $3,175,000; $120,600,000

9. Repo Men- $3,048,000; $11,342,000

10. Our Family Wedding- $2,200,000; $16,785,000

*First number indicates weekend gross. Second number is cumulative total since opening.