Harry Potter No. 1 at box office
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" was the top movie at the box office this weekend, according to studio estimates. It made an estimated $77.4 million over the weekend and $140 million since opening Wednesday.
Technically, it had the lowest grossing weekend of the five Harry Potter movies. But its five-day gross was bigger than the weekend openings of the previous four.
By DAVID GERMAIN
The Associated Press
Harry Potter remains a box-office charmer.
The Warner Bros. fantasy sequel "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" conjured up a $77.4 million debut to lead the weekend box office, according to studio estimates Sunday.
That raised the movie's total domestic gross to $140 million since opening Wednesday.
"Order of the Phoenix" also has taken in an additional $190.3 million in 44 other countries where it began rolling out Wednesday.
"Order of the Phoenix" expanded overall business for Hollywood. The top 12 movies took in $171.1 million, up 14 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" was No. 1 with $62.3 million.
The fifth chapter in the movie series based on J.K. Rowling's novels about the teen wizard, "Order of the Phoenix" has Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) leading a secret society of students to prepare for the coming showdown with the evil Lord Voldemort.
The previous four "Harry Potter" flicks all had bigger first weekends, ranging from $88.4 million to $102.7 million, but those all debuted Friday. "Order of the Phoenix" was the first to get a jump on the weekend with a Wednesday opening.
"We're in the middle of summer, and we just said why not, because kids are out of school," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros. "It certainly turned out to be the right decision."