Filmonic reviewer/reporter Joe Belcastro covers the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 release event live at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

On the weekend of the home video release (11/11/11) of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, an assortment of the cast and crew from the Harry Potter realm all gathered at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida, to yap with the worldwide press and mingle with fans in attendance throughout the three-day event.

Friday was the press conference as everyone from actor Rupert Grint to director David Yates – who helmed the last four Potter flicks – all descended upon the theme park that was inspired by J. K. Rowling’s literary gems in conjunction with the vision of the respective filmmakers, which was brought to life these last eleven years.

Saturday saw a massive red-carpet spectacle that ran through the entire re-created world, with the cast all going up on stage at the base of Hogwarts, while a firework display went off celebrating all they have accomplished.

So without any further ado, yours truly chatted with just about everyone at the presser and the red carpet.  Read some quotes and take a listen to a portion of the press conference below:

On whether the cast is sad that it is all officially wrapping up…

“I don’t whether sad is quite the right word,” says Warwick Davis (Professor Flitwick & Griphook).

“I mean, it’s sad the paychecks aren’t coming through anymore,” he says with a grin.  “I suppose the thing that might be sad is not seeing everybody so often.  We are all used to going to work and hanging out; certainly with members of the cast together, and also the fantastic crew we had at the studios.  Going to that place every day felt secure.”

The animated Mark Williams (Mr. Weasley) added, “People ask us that question and we hesitate to reply and I think the reason is that this has never been done before.  And we are kind of struggling to understand what’s being achieved.  But I think celebration is a good word, I’d go with that one.”

Also reflecting on the moment was director David Yates; who in his gentle voice chimed in with this…

“It was always a very family atmosphere when we made these movies.  A real sense of community.  And I think that what we all will carry that forward with us, as well as the pride in the work.  It’s hard to get an angle on it; we’re so close to it.  It was such an extraordinary amount of work that we did together.  It’s hard to really contextualize it at the moment.  I think Rupert used the word surreal; it feels a little surreal at this point because we are that close to it.  But I think we’ll see each other whenever we pass and we’ll always be grateful for the experience and they will be relationships that will continue.”

The family theme came up a lot in all of their response.  Mainly because they all realized that this was going to be special.  As Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy) succinctly put it…

“We all felt like we were privileged to work there.”

Isaacs also had an interesting response when people come up to him and say they are the biggest Harry Potter fans…

“The biggest fans of Harry Potter that I have ever met are at this table and the table before,” (referencing all the cast & crew that took part in the press conference).

A prime example of that is Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood); who admittedly came from the fan world and she is still in awe of being a part of something she loved so much.

Stanislav Ianevski (Viktor Krum), also a fan, gave a deep response to what’s going on in his mind…

“To be honest, it’s very difficult for me to take in the moment that it’s come to an end.  I’d rather believe that it’s never going to come to an end, because Harry Potter and everything that’s done – for over eleven years now – you know, I think is going to live on forever in people’s hearts.  I’d rather think that, we are going to live in their hearts forever.”

That thoughtful answer put Domhnall Gleeson (Bill Weasley) in an interesting spot (for he was next to answer), as in: how do I follow that?

“Yeah, what he said (smiling).  It’s amazing.  So good to see everyone again, he says laughing.”

Focus shifted to David Yates and he revealed what his personal goals were when taking over the franchise…

“I think we had to absolutely get the last film right in its totality; because there was so much pressure riding on that story,” says Yates.  ”People had followed that story for ten years and there was a huge expectation about the finale.  So we carried that pressure with us for some time.  It was tricky of getting that balance of comedy, adventure, action sort of coordinated in the right way.”

And his most memorable directing achievements while working on the films…

“One of the scenes I’m proudest of, which I adore, is the kiss between Ron and Hermione in Hallows Part 2, just because of its charm.”

“I still remember the scene very fondly with Rupert and Emma; it was a delicate scene to get right because Rupert and Emma know each other really, really well.  And it’s quite a challenging thing to snog someone you know really well.”

The overall tone of the press conference was celebratory and that stemmed from the questions being asked.  They all talked about the little souvenirs they “took” from the set while filming.  Producer David Barron gave a funny story how passionate (or rabid) the fans are, when one approached him for an autograph.  Rupert Grint briefly told one that happened at one of the premieres…

“Yeah, I had kind of an encounter with an interesting character,” says Grint.  ”It was actually at one of the premieres, the fourth film maybe, in New York, and we were just about to be put away in the limo, and this man in a wheelchair grabbed onto the back bumper.  And we towed him along for a few yards.”

Grint also elaborated on how he and his now infamous “Ron” persona coexist…

“I kind of feel we merged into the same person in a weird way.  I always could relate to Ron, and not just cause we’re both ginger.”

With the home video release (DVD, Blu-ray, Download & Ultra Violet Digital Copy) producers David Barron and David Heyman said those expecting extended or a bunch of deleted scenes will be surprised that there are not that many on the disc.  Just about all the the footage that they shot was used in the film (Good!)

The inevitable chance of another movie had to be asked.  Artistically, there is no need to ever try to add on to this amazing achievement in filmmaking.  Well, unless J.K. Rowlings decides to conjure up another phonebook sized novel.  But with the business of Hollywood and how nothing is sacred, David Yates and David Barron answered with this…

“You could only do something additional to the eight films we have if it originated from Jo herself (Rowlings),” says Barron.  ”We would have to have the integrity she would give it.  And I can’t see what it would be, because she told a singular story over seven volumes that we took eight films to tell that same story.  And we reached the end of that story.  I can’t really imagine what it would be.  We know what happens to Harry – he got married, he had kids, he rebuilt the school, it’s no big mystery.  I think she did that on purpose really, so it was not left open”

“And there’s a sort of a time and a place for a story such as this,” added Yates.  And it seems wonderful to leave it where it is somehow.  I think that will gain value in time.  And I think it would be a real shame to continue.”

“But we’d like a part,” says the quick-witted Mark Williams.  And David Barron appropriately followed that up with, “And we would like to work on it, too.”

Finally, we come to the A-Ha moments.  The moment when they all personally realized that this Harry Potter phenomenon was bigger than they thought.  And they were a part of it.  A few of them – including Rupert Grint, James and Oliver Phelps (Weasley Twins), producer David Heyman, Jason Isaacs, Evanna Lynch, George Harris (Kingsley Shacklebolt), Nick Moran (Scabior), David Bradley (Argus Filch) and Devon Murray (Seamus Finnigan) – specifically recalled what they were doing and/or where they were when it more-or-less “hit” them that they played a role in the biggest movie franchise of all-time…

Below are a few audio interviews containing their ‘A-Ha’ moments:

In order: Nick Moran (Scabior), David Bradley (Filch), David Heyman (producer), George Harris (Kingsley), Phelps Twins (Weasley Twins), Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy) and Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood)

Rupert Grint

Devon Murray

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In what might seem like a very very strange business decision, Warner Bros will stop shipping all Harry Potter theatrical film titles starting December 29th. This is usually not something you do with the most successful film franchise of all time.

Here’s the press release:

Burbank, CA – October 24, 2011 – Harry Potter, the #1 motion picture franchise of all time, will soon disappear from shelves, as Warner Bros. stops shipping all Harry Potter theatrical film titles (including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ – Part 2, and Harry Potter: The Complete 8-Film Collection) as of December 29, 2011 (moratorium does not include digital – Electronic Sell-Through & VOD – or games). The Harry Potter franchise has grossed more than $12.1 billion for Warner Bros. Entertainment – with $7 billion at the worldwide box office for Warner Bros. Pictures and $5.1 billion for Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

As you can see, Warner Bros. have given no explanation for this but I might be able to help with that. You see, such a move just before Christmas boosts demand for the movies considerably. This means people have to buy the DVDs and Blu-rays before the 29th of December otherwise there ain’t gonna be no Harry Potter left for them. That’s short-term, in the long-term Warner could re-release the movies as events (and this is probably what they are planning). In the past Disney pulled similar stunts and it worked well for them so Warner Bros. are following suit.

Bottom line is this, if you want an original copy of any of the Harry Potter movies (or the entire collection) on DVD or Blury, you have to buy it this year, otherwise you’ll be left with bootleg copies found on the corner of the street. Warner Bros. want your money now.

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From the makers of How Lord of The Rings Should Have Ended and a whole bunch of others comes the highly anticipated How Harry Potter Should Have Ended!

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We had an interesting weekend at the box office with Cowboys & Aliens and The Smurfs neck a neck. You see, Sunday estimates had them both at $36.2 million for the weekend but come Monday, Cowboys & Aliens was found to have been underestimated while The Smurfs was overestimated so the winner emerged. Other then that, Captain America took a stepper drop then expected while the latest Potter reached a new landmark.

Cowboys & Aliens debuted at number 1 with $36.4 million, softer then expected and considering the $163 million reported budget, far from a hit. Unfortunately, while a fun movie, Cowboys & Aliens combines two very specific genres that don’t turn hits all that often. Focusing on the western more then the sci-fi made this an even harder sell, regardless of the stellar cast they got going. I’m going to guess Cowboys & Aliens will finish right around $100 million and the future of this franchise is left in the hands of international audiences.

The Smurfs on the other hand performed better then expected with $35.6 million. Among other CGI-live action talking critter films, The Smurfs ranks higher then Yogi Bear ($16.4M) and G-Force ($31.7M) but lower than Hop ($37.5M) and Alvin and the Chipmunks ($44.3M). Taking into consideration the $110 million invested in this flick, a big budget for a kids movie, The Smurfs is going to need strong box office legs to make a profit. I can see this performing similarly to G-Force in the coming weeks so based on that it should finish with $120 million or so.

In 3rd place Captain America: The First Avenger took a bit of a dive, down 60.7% for $25.5 million. After 11 days Captain is neck a neck with Thor, $120.8 million versus $122.3 million. Captain lost his lead on the Norse god and is now looking like it won’t make it back so based on that, Captain America: The First Avenger is now on track for $165-170 million when all is said and done.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, the movie with the longest name in the top 10, was 4th with $21.9 million and with $318.5 million in 17 days, it passed Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone ($317.5M) thus becoming the highest grossing entry in the series. This is obviously not adjusted for inflation, otherwise Deathly Hallows Part 2 would still have a long way to go.

Rounding out the top 5, Crazy, Stupid, Love performed as expected with $19.1 million. As far as romantic comedies go, this was a good opening, higher then last week’s Friends with Benefits ($18.6M) but that had an R rating while this is PG-13.

Now on to the Potter-Transformers race for the yearly top spot. Transformers: Dark of the Moon is now at $338.8 million after 34 days while Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is at $321.8 million after 18 days. It doesn’t take a box office expert to figure out that Potter is going to pass Transformers sometime in the next 2 weeks. The autobots are on track to finish with $355-360 million while Potter should stop at around $370-375 million.

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The last superhero of the year, Captain America: The First Avenger, triumphed at the box office showing once again, if you make it good, people will come (also advertise the heck out of it). This first avenger was the last flick leading into next year’s The Avengers (stay for the Captain end credits) and I must say it got me really pumped for that movie. While Captain was first, Potter found himself in second place after a rather steep drop, but more of this after the break.

With $65 million, Captain America: The First Avenger had the 2nd best superhero opening of the year (Thor grossed $65.7 million, he is also in The Avengers) and among other avengers, he ranked under both Iron Man 1 and 2 but above The Incredible Hulk‘s $55.4 million opening. So with all these big budget commercials behind, next May we’ll finally find out if Marvel’s experiment will work the way they planned. But seriously, how could it not, The Avengers is going to be huge, maybe not like 1 billion worldwide huge, but still big enough to hopefully spawn more sequels, keeping busy the fantastic cast they got together, Robert Downey Jr. , Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was 2nd with a 72% drop from last weekend, grossing $47.4 million. Now you might think 72% is terrible, but considering the ridiculously high opening weekend and the notoriously frontloaded nature of the Harry Potter movies, Deathly Hallows Part 2 is actually performing on par with past summer entries in the series. So fear not, with $273.5 million in 10 days this is still the 2nd fastest grosser of all time (The Dark Knight had $313.7 million after 10 days) and well on track to finish north of $360 million in North America, a new Potter high. It’s going to be an epic battle between Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The prize? With nothing else big enough coming in the next months (and yes, I know Twilight will be huge, but trust me, it won’t be $350+ million huge), one of these two will become the number one movie of the year in North America.

In 3rd place Friends with Benefits opened with $18.6 million. For Justin Timberlake this is lower then his other R-rated comedy released this year, Bad Teacher ($31.6 million opening), while for Mila Kunis Friends played similarly to her 2008 R-rated comedy, Forgetting Sarah Marshall ($17.7 million opening). With good word of mouth Friends with Benefits might finish around $60 million, considering the $35 million budget, that would label it as a success. But, looking at Bad Teacher or Horrible Bosses, both on track to pass the 100 million mark, you can’t shake the feeling that this could have made a lot more.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon dropped 43.5% to $12 million and now the $195 million movie is at $325.8 million in North America after 26 days. On a daily basis this is now under Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen but in line with Transformers. Based on that it should bring in at least $30 million more over the coming weeks, for a total north of $355 million.

Last but not least, Horrible Bosses was 5th with $11.8 million for $82.5 million after 17 days. This is now pulling ahead of Bad Teacher by the day and should stop around $115-120 million.

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After setting a new opening weekend record in North America, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 did the impossible and destroyed the international opening record with an astronomical $314 million. The previous record was set just 2 months ago by Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides with $260 million, so you can kind of see why destroyed is the correct term here.

If we take a look at the all time international openings top 10, we can see that Harry Potter has definitely a strong foot in there with 4 movies now.

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (3D) $314M
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (3D) $260.4M
3. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince $236M
4. Spider-Man 3 $230.5M
5. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (3D) $219.8M
6. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End $216M
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 $205M
8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix $193M
9. 2012 $165.2M
10. Avatar (3D) $164.5M

As you can see, Potter has gone up quite a bit since Deathly Hallows Part 1 and based on the international performance of that ($660 million), Part 2 should be headed to $900 million, something I find very hard to believe. I think frontloaded would be the correct term here. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was crazy frontloaded so I’m inclined to think that it should finish with around $800 million internationally. Considering it already passed $390 million, that should not be a hard goal. If we take into account the money it will gross in North America, then the 8th Harry Potter is looking at about $1,150-1,200 million worldwide, enough to become the 3rd highest grossing movie of all time. I mean it is at $604.8 million worldwide already, halfway there. Finally, I don’t think I have to write to much about the fact this is now the fastest grossing movie ever, I mean it just opened a week ago and already flew past $600 million.

In 2nd place we find Transformers: Dark of the Moon with $39.5 million and $474 million so far internationally. Now it was to be expected that Potter would steal a big chunk of business from the autobots, but fear not Transformers fans, with both China and Japan set to open in the next few days, this flick has not reached its final hour yet. The billion mark worldwide is still very much a possibility.

Cars 2 was 3rd, grossing $12.4 million with still a lot more territories left to open in the next weeks. $146.6 million internationally and $314.6 million worldwide are the current tallies for this one.

Kung Fu Panda 2 is more impressive in 4th place with $10.2 million for $426.6 million internationally and that is now more then the $416.3 million made by the original. Worldwide the figure is $586.9 million, a bit less then the $631.7 million grossed by Kung Fu Panda in 2008, mostly because of the disappointing North American box office performance of the flick.

Bad Teacher was 5th with $6.9 million ($58.6M) and $148.8 million worldwide while Mr. Popper’s Penguins was 6th with a similar figure and $39.2 million so far internationally ($101.2M worldwide).

7th was Zookeeper with $5.8 million while Bridesmaids was 8th with $5.4 million and a very impressive $220.8 million worldwide. Japanese flick Kokuriko-Zaka Kara was 9th with $4.7 million (all made in Japan) and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was 10th with $3.1 million, probably the last time we’ll see it in the top 10. With $1,028.9 million worldwide, this is now the 6th highest grosser of all time.

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I was wrong, yes, I said I will be first to admit and here it is, I was wrong thinking Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 won’t have enough steam to carry itself past The Dark Knight‘s opening weekend record of $158.4 million (made exactly 3 years ago). But it wasn’t just the weekend, Potter destroyed the previous single day record of $72.7 million held by The Twilight Saga: New Moon with an astonishing $91 million (mostly thanks to a fantastic $43.5 million midnight opening, another record set by the boy that lived).

The exact sum generated by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is $169,189,427, almost $11 million more then The Dark Knight. But hold your horses, Potter had 3D and while it only factored 43% of the gross, it still made a big enough difference to boost the flick past Batman.

The previous Harry Potter record was held by Deathly Hallows Part 1 with $125 million last November, so going from that to $169 million is definitely more then just a 3D boost for the series. In the end Potter managed to come full circle after taking the opening weekend record way back in November 2001 with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, now coming back almost 10 years later to take what was rightfully his. Here’s a good question, will Deathly Hallows Part 2 hold this record for more than 6 months? You know, that is exactly how long it took for Spider-Man to break the Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone opening record in May 2002. The answer to that question is a definite yes since this came out in the summer while Philosopher’s Stone was a November release, so there is nothing coming out that could break said record, at least until The Dark Knight Rises rises July 2012.

Pottermania took its toll on Transformers: Dark of the Moon, down 54.7% in 2nd place with $21.3 million for a new total of $302.8 million in 19 days. Right now I’m inclined to think it will stop around $350 million and since Potter has a chance of making more, North America is still up for grabs, the race is far from over. Either way, I’m ready to bet it will be one or the other in first place at the end of 2011 in North America.

In 3rd place Horrible Bosses was not affected by Potter, falling only 37.2% for $17.7 million and $60.1 million in 10 days. Bad Teacher, a comparable movie that opened higher, was at $59.9 million after 10 days so Horrible Bosses is well on its way to $100+ million.

Zookeeper was 4th and surprisingly, only fell 38.5% grossing $12.3 million for just $42.3 million in 10 days. This is after all an $80 million flick that should have grossed a lot more by now. Horrible Bosses made so far $18 million more and cost $45 million less, the math is simple here.

Cars 2 continues to tarnish more then 15 years of Pixar legacy, now in 5th place with $8.4 million and $165.3 million. Don’t know how to put this any better so here we go: at this point there ain’t no way this cars can race to that fabled $200 million finish line, thus Cars 2 becomes the first Pixar movie not to match its budget in North America (cost $200 million to make).

Definitely not a fine year for animated flicks, at least in the US. Hopefully Tintin can change that when it opens in December.

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Until about three weeks ago, I had no relationship with the Harry Potter franchise. Never read the books, never saw any of the movies. So I decided to catch up with all of the older movies and see the final film in theaters. And though some of those earlier films are hit-and-miss, I don’t regret my decision at all; the entire experience was unquestionably worth it just to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 wrap up this series in such an impressive way. People (myself included) throw around the word “epic” fairly often, but this movie is deserving of that description, instantly becoming my favorite of this franchise.

[It's nearly impossible to review this movie - or the entire Potter series, for that matter - without at least acknowledging the similarities to Lord of the Rings, another wildly successful franchise with a "hero's journey" story at its core. To list every similarity would be counterproductive for the purposes of this review, but suffice it to say there are many.]

Deathly Hallows: Part 2 picks up immediately where Part 1 left off, and thankfully has far more action and importance than its neutered predecessor. To the cynical outsider looking in, it would appear that Warner Bros. split the last book into two movies for no other reason than to make more money (a task at which Part 2 has excelled so far). But I’m actually glad they went down that path, considering how Part 2 feels like it’s stuffed to the brim as it is; audiences surely would have been cheated out of this film’s awesomeness if the writer had to cram the dullness of Part 1 into the same film. As long as Part 2 delivers – and trust me, it does – then I think it’s justifiable that we suffered through the spinning wheels of Part 1 as a pure setup for this finale.

Steve Kloves, who wrote the screenplays for all of the movies except for Order of the Phoenix (my previous favorite of the series, coincidentally), did a great job wrapping everything up and bringing closure to a series that spanned such a lengthy amount of time. Even among the minor characters, no one felt shortchanged, and the Big Three of Harry, Ron, and Hermione were given the send-off they deserved. The flashback sequence was a particularly inspired bit of writing (taken, I’m sure, from Rowling’s original novel), allowing for the dramatic reveal of Snape’s past. And to avoid spoilers, I’ll simply say I really enjoyed the way the elbents of the Deathly Hallows were used in the story.

The younger cast members improved dramatically during their ten year run bringing these characters to life, and this was a high point for each of them. I can’t wait to watch the trajectories of the main casts’ careers move forward from here; Radcliffe, in particular, I can envision becoming a Ron Howard-type: someone raised in front of the camera, but evolving into a serviceable filmmaker in his own right. I also loved seeing lower-tier characters like Neville Longbottom make an impact here in Part 2, coming full circle from his introduction as the laughable loser back in The Sorcerer’s Stone. The arcs of the Malfoys – both young and old - were also fun to watch as the movies progressed. (Villains who are THAT dramatic are always awesome.) One thing is for sure: now that this franchise is finished, cinema has lost one of the finest ensemble casts ever committed to film. It’s hard to beat names like Gary Oldman, Jason Issacs, Richard Harris, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent, Warwick Davis, and Emma Thompson when they join forces.

The visual effects in this movie were top notch, an unlike so many effects-heavy movies these days, these never elicited winces or scoffs from the audience. Director David Yates’ team worked wonders here, honing The Battle of Hogwarts into one of the best set pieces of the year. Yates’ vision has stayed consistent both with movies he’s helmed and the ones he hasn’t, recreating sets in Part 2 (the Chamber of Secrets, Gringotts, etc.) and in the process providing a great sense of geography and familiarity with the world of Harry Potter.

There’s not much else I can say without giving away massive plot points, but I think Tyler (my co-host on The Not Just New Movies Podcast) and I are planning some sort of retrospective discussion on the entire Harry Potter franchise sometime soon, so keep a lookout for that in the coming weeks. It’ll take a bit of reflection for me to be able to rank the Harry Potter films alongside my favorite movies, but as far as epic hero stories go, this saga is pretty damn impressive. Until next time…

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In November 2001 the boy wizard had his big screen debut with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Sorcerer’s Stone in the US), a smashing box office success that set the highest opening weekend record at the time and went on to gross $974.7 million worldwide, something no other movie in the series has managed.

This July Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, the 8th entry in the long running series, is going for the North American opening weekend record that has been in the hands of The Dark Knight for a good 3 years. Warner is really pushing for this and the magic number to beat is $158.4 million. Is Potter up to the task?

Unfortunately, even with the higher priced 3D tickets, Potter might not be all the way up to the task and Warner will have to settle for a bit less, probably $145 million, just under The Dark Knight ($158.4M) and Spider-Man 3 ($151.1M). You can’t really blame Warner if Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 won’t beat that record since they have been pulling all the stops, 4375 theaters, over 11,000 screens not to mention the biggest 3D release ever in more then 3000 locations. Either way Potter will take the worldwide opening weekend record and won’t have much problem going past Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and the billion mark.

The only other question is how high can it finish in North America at the end of the year, where Transformers: Dark of the Moon is set to go over $360 million when all is said and done, a figure not easily accessible for Mr. Potter. But hey, if Deathly Hallows Part 2 can grab that record and finish the year ahead of Transformers, then I’ll be the first to admit I was wrong (and happy to do so). Reviews are the best we’ve ever seen for the series (97% on Rotten Tomatoes) and it would be a fitting end if Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 would finish first at the end of the year in both North America and the rest of the world.

Speaking of Transformers, Dark of the Moon is set to finish in 2nd place with probably around $24 million for a 19th days grand total of $305 million, not to shabby. At that point the Michael Bay robot spectacle will be close to $800 million worldwide.

Horrible Bosses should be a strong 3rd place with $14 million for over $57 million in 10 days. Winnie the Pooh, the other new release of the weekend, is going one on one with The Zookeeper for 4th place,both aiming for $10-11 million. Winnie the Pooh is opening in 2405 theaters without much in the way of advertising from Disney. What once looked like a return to form for the Bear, has become simple yet effective counterprogramming to the dark Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, a movie definitely not suitable for very young children.

Next week Captain America: The First Avenger is a superhero you might want to keep your eyes on while Friends With Benefits is… another R-rated comedy?

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With the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 less than a week away Warner Bros. have released a new trailer which looks back at the whole franchise.

Watch below:

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