UPDATE 7/17:  MORE NUMBERS ARE IN! 

Half Blood Prince opened at $104 million in its first 24 hours, when international totals are factored in (as they generally are for all opening day stats).  So, the 6th Potter movie has far surpassed Transformers 2 and is well on the way to giving it a 5-day spanking.

Take THAT, Transformers!

For those who love the boy wizard, there’s good news and bad news about this week’s opening stats so far. Now keep in mind they aren’t completed, because a movie that opens on a Wednesday gets to count its 5-day opening (this is why they do these big films on Wednesdays instead of Fridays). And, obviously all we can count so far is the opening day numbers.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, the 6th in the 7-book, 8-movie series, grossed $58.4 million in its first day.  Now, for those of you who, like me, are numerically challenged, that’s WAY above opening day stats for the 5th movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.  Phoenix garnered $4 million on its first day.  Adding to the impressiveness of the stats, almost of third of that take came from midnight showings–the earliest possible moment a true fan could see the film.  Midnight showings garnered over $22 million.

However, Potter fans will be anything from irritated to appalled to learn that Transformers 2 grossed $60 million on its first day, and about $200 million in its first 5 days.  Half Blood Prince is only predicted to gross about $150 million.  Of course, that “only ” is only in comparison to Transformers 2; $150 million is still a huge amount of money and puts Half Blood Prince in the top 5 highest earners of all time.