July 15, 2009–Warner’s “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” directed by Davis Yates, scored the biggest midnight gross of all-time in earning $22.2 million as it played in 3,003 runs at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
That figure beats the $18 million earned in midnight runs by Warner’s “The Dark Knight” and the $17 million earned by Fox’s “Star Wars: Episode III —Revenge of the Sith.” Earlier this summer, Paramount’s “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” also opened on a Wednesday, grossed $16 million in midnight runs.
“Half-Blood Prince” opens in the same Wednesday slot that “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” did in 2007. “Order of the Phoenix” grossed $12 million in midnight runs and $139.7 million in its five-day debut. “Harry Potter 6” may be the most commercially popular installment, as it’s been two years since the last Potter picture or the last book in J.K. Rowling’s series.
