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With 3,800 locations screening the midnight showing of the final installment of the Potter franchise, the movie netted $43.5 million in its first three hours of release.
That number crushed the previous record held by “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” which recorded $30 million in midnight earnings in 2010. The vampire series “Twilight” is based on the books by Stephenie Meyer.
The “Harry Potter” films, of course, also have a literary predecessor. The films are based on the best-selling books by J.K. Rowling. All told, the “Potter” films have grossed more than $6 billion worldwide since the release of the first movie, “Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone” in 2001.
The scene outside of the AMC 24 at Quail Springs Mall, 2501 W Memorial Road, on Thursday evening was filled with fans dressed as their favorite characters.
The line into the theater wound its way from the ticket line in the food court all the way up to the third floor of the mall.
Quail Springs AMC showed the movie on all 24 screens, and a theater employee said every theater sold out for the midnight showing.
With the movie's opening-weekend projections targeted at $150 million, “Deathly Hallows: Part 2” may fall just short of the record for all-time best opening weekend. “The Dark Knight,” which starred Christian Bale and Heath Ledger, rocketed to $158 million the weekend of July 18, 2008.