$400 Million in Two Weeks

Reuters: Harry Potter passes $400 million---

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The new Harry Potter film generated an estimated $408 million at the worldwide box office after its second weekend, with North American moviegoers contributing nearly half of that amount, its distributor said on Sunday.

The top foreign markets for "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" include Britain with $51.3 million, Germany with $35.5 million and Mexico with $13.6 million, all after two weekends, according to Warner Bros. Pictures.

Additionally, the film opened in such markets as Japan with $14.3 million, which Warner Bros. said was the fifth-best opening of all time; Italy with $9.4 million, the best opening of all time, the studio said; and Spain with $8 million, the second-best of all time.

All told, the fourth adaptation of J.K. Rowling's books about a boy wizard earned $95.4 million over the weekend from 42 foreign markets, the studio said.

In North America, "Harry Potter" sold an estimated $54.9 million worth of tickets in the three days beginning Friday. The 10-day haul of $201.1 million handily beats the comparable performances of the first three films, led by the $186 million tally for the first one, 2001's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

Warner Bros. hopes the North American tally for "Goblet of Fire" will pass $300 million, said Dan Fellman, president of domestic theatrical distribution at the Time Warner Inc.-owned studio.

I've seen it twice.

My thoughts on the movie are here.

(Curtsy to Drudge)