You knew the Harry Potter series was a massive worldwide box office smash; but now we have a rough idea of how big it really is. Reuters is reporting that thanks to the recent success of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, the Harry Potter series has earned more than $7 billion dollars over eight wildly successful films based on the novels by J.K Rowling.
The $7 billion dollar figure for Harry Potter cements the place of the series as the most successful film series of all time. Included in the statement from Warner Brothers touting Potter’s $7 billion dollar bonanza was a list of the worldwide grosses for each of the Harry Potter films since the release of the first in 2001.
Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone (2001) $974 million dollars
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) $878 million dollars
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) $796 million dollars
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) $896 million dollars
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) $939 million dollars
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (2009) $934 million dollars
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010) $955 million dollars
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011) $640 million dollars*
*Still in theaters
Recently, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 set a three day opening weekend record, grossing $168.55 million dollars at the domestic box office and breaking the record set by The Dark Knight, which grossed more than $158 million dollars over its opening weekend in 2008.
That record followed the record for a midnight movie premiere. The film took in $43 million dollars when it opened at midnight on July 15th. The previous record was a mere $30 million dollars set by The Twilight Saga: Eclipse in 2010.