Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince handily wins the weekend box office race.
It’s true what they say: absence really does make the heart grow fonder. Even though the last Harry Potter flick came out two full years ago–July 11, 2007, only a week before the final book in the series hit shelves–audiences showed up in droves to check out the latest installment, which has banked $159 million since its midnight launch last Tuesday. Expect a similarly strong turn-out for the last two movies in the franchise, which are set to launch in Fall 2010 and Summer 2011 respectively. Those families that couldn’t score a ticket on the Hogwarts Express settled for the continuing animated adventures of a trio of pre-historic creatures. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs collected another $17 million in its third week in release, putting its total gross at $152 million. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen continues to print money for Paramount, closing in on the $400 million mark, which would put it in the lower rungs of the Top Ten of all-time box office champs.
Elsewhere, Sacha Baron Cohen might need to start looking for a traditional romantic comedy stat. His sophomore star turn Bruno took a big second-week hit, collecting only $8 million for a total to-date gross of $50 million. At this point, the movie has little chance of catching up to its predecessor Borat, which finised its run with $130 million. On the other hand, director Todd Phillips is rolling in dough now that his low-budget comedy The Hangover has officially become one of the biggest comedy smashes ever, with $236 million and counting.
Looking at the bottom half of the chart, Sandra Bullock and Johnny Depp took the #6 and #7 spots respectively and Pixar’s Up–still the best film of 2009–finished eighth as it approaches $300 million, which makes it the company’s second biggest hit behind Finding Nemo. A pair of blondes–Cameron Diaz and Hayden Panettiere–round out the Top Ten.
Full figures are below, courtesy of the-numbers.com. Next week, Katherine Heigl will attempt to seduce moviegoers with her charms in The Ugly Truth and Jerry Bruckheimer tries his hand at making a kiddie blockbuster in the action comedy G-Force.
The Top Ten: July 17-19, 2009
1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: $159.7
2. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs: $17.7/$152
3. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: $13.8/$363.9
4. Bruno: $8.3/$49.6
5. The Hangover: $8.3/$235.8
6. The Proposal: $8.2/$128
7. Public Enemies: $7.5/$79.4
8. Up: $3.1/$279.5
9. My Sister’s Keeper: $2.8/$41.5
10. I Love You, Beth Cooper: $2.6/$10.2
