Nothing deathly about this weekend's anticipated gross for the final "Harry Potter" movie.
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," Warner Bros.' last installment of the most successful film franchise ever, could end its 10-year success story with a spellbinding debut approaching $150 million.
With the addition of 3-D, this far surpasses "Part 1's" $125 million opening last November. The current debut weekend record is $158 million set by "The Dark Knight" in 2008.
Amid a ticket-buying frenzy for the final film in J.K. Rowling's beloved series, "Potter" could easily see a $400 million weekend worldwide, one of the largest global openings on record — with a little help from ticket-price inflation, of course. "Potter" has already taken in $43.6 million from Wednesday openings in 26 foreign countries.
After holding the No. 1 spot for two weeks in a row, Paramount's "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" should end its third weekend with a second-place finish of around $20 million. Optimus Prime and his heavy metal friends have earned nearly $700 million in worldwide revenue so far.
Warner Bros.' "Horrible Bosses," featuring the disgruntled trio of Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis, will go for a third-place finish in its second weekend with around $15 million, crossing the $50 million mark in the process.
Sony's PG-rated, kid-friendly romp "Zookeeper" should capture fourth place with about $10 million and finish the weekend with $40 million-plus in total North American revenue.
Two Disney animated films will be vying for fifth place this weekend. The studio's latest big-screen version of "Winnie the Pooh" will offer a perfect G-rated alternative for younger kids and open at around $8 million, while "Cars 2" will be racing right along with "Winnie" for a fourth-weekend finish in the $7 million to $8 million range.
___
Paul Dergarabedian is president of the Box Office Division of Hollywood.com and a box office analyst for The Associated Press.
___
Online: www.Hollywood.com/boxoffice