The buzz going into “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” was big, even for a Harry Potter film. And the anticipation helped the film make a major impact; the latest “Potter” set the midnight box office record.
According to estimates, the film grossed $22.2 million in its 3,003 midnight runs Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, which gives it a healthy lead as the best midnight performer in history. Last summer’s “The Dark Knight,” which went on to gross in excess of $500 million, earned $18 million in its midnight bow.
Earlier this summer, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” pulled $16 million in its midnight premiere. That film has grossed over $300 million and has far and away been the best performer this summer.
“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” the last Potter film adaptation, pulled only $12 million at midnight.
JK Rowling identified witchy sounding names such as toadflax, goutwort, grommel, and others in Culpeper’s Complete Herbal, a renowned book of herbal lore from the 1600s.