Harry Potter has Biggest Worldwide Opening of the Year

June 8, 2004

Despite only opening in 24 international markets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban had both the biggest international and worldwide opening of the year. Its three day total of $87.2 million was ahead of last week's winner The Day After Tomorrow despite opening in just a fraction of the markets (24 to 110) and significantly fewer screens (7,885 to 9,276.) If you include the weekday numbers in the U.K., (which are being treated as previews by Warner Bros.) then it has the third biggest international opening ever with $113.5 million. This is a fare comparison since the two films ahead of it also were not strict 3-day openers either. (Lord of the Rings: Return of the King's $125.9 million included sneak previews and The Matrix Revolutions's $117.6 million was a five day total.) Worldwide the film has already earned more than $200 million, which is good enough for sixth place for the year.

Strong openings in two major markets (Japan and South Korea) helped The Day After Tomorrow hold only most of its opening weekend international box office. With its additional $54.1 million this weekend, it pushed its international total to $179.2 million and its worldwide total past $300 million. However, with no more major markets to open in, its won't be able to keep up this pace for long.

Falling even further was Troy with $23.2 million. The film is now just a weekend away from hitting $400 million worldwide and is already the biggest international hit of the year overtaking Passion of the Christ.

Van Helsing's weekend take was cut in half from last week. With just $3.5 million, it will need solid performances in South Korea and Japan to make it to $300 million worldwide. And even if it does, the film will need strong home market sales to show a profit.

While exact figures are not known at this time, it is estimated that Crying Out for Love in the Center of the World made it into the top five, again, based solely on its run in Japan. The home grown film may have in fact beaten out Van Helsing for fourth place. If the film manages comparable results in the rest of the Asian market, it could reach $100 million before it is released Stateside.


Submitted by:

Source: Variety

Filed under: International Box Office, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Day After Tomorrow, Troy, Van Helsing