Deathly Hallows highest earner

The latest film in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1, has become the highest grossing instalment of the Harry Potter franchise outside North America as of Wednesday.

The seventh movie about the exploits of the boy wizard has earned US$657.24 million (NZ$893.34 million) and counting, edging past the previous record-holder - 2001's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which grossed US$657 million at the foreign box office, distributor Warner Bros said.

Globally, including North American ticket sales, it still trails, however, having grossed around US$951 million compared with US$975 million for the 2001 picture, according to ticket tracking site Boxofficemojo.com.

Also, figures have not been adjusted for inflation.

Deathly Hallows Part 1, based on the final instalment of the series of best-selling books by author JK Rowling, performed strongly from the start last November, landing at No. 6 on the list of all-time best US weekend debuts.

The six previous Potter films have grossed US$5.4 billion globally for Warner Bros. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2, the final instalment, is set to hit theatres on July 15. http://www.stuff.co.nz

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