Harry Potter Zaps Box Office Record, Nabs $168.6M

Quidditch gets swapped for bleak tone in penultimate film

(NEWSER) - The penultimate Harry Potter movie hits theaters today, and while reviews for Deathly Hallows: Part I range all the way from "best Potter movie ever" to "worst Potter movie ever," most critics are positive about it and are looking forward to next summer's grand finale. The movie currently has a 77% rating at Rotten Tomatoes .

• The Potter movies have gotten progressively darker, and this one is no exception, writes Brandon Fibbs at the Colorado Springs Gazette . "The mischievous and playful whimsy that defined the series in the beginning is now almost completely absent," he writes. "Deathly Hallows lacks almost all perceptible warmth, hope, and fun. And that is precisely what makes it great."

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson get 'very sexy,' says director

(NEWSER) - Hang on to your hats, parents: Harry Potter and Hermione Granger will strip down in a “very sexy” scene in the next film. The decidedly mature scenario comes about courtesy of a monster that's torturing Ron Weasley, Hermione’s would-be boyfriend, with the scandalous images. “We’ll create something that feels very sexy and very intriguing to bring about a reaction in Rupert” Grint, who plays Ron, director David Yates tells the Telegraph . More»

Cast burbles on last day in latest Warner Bros. film

(NEWSER) - Now it can be shown: The last day of filming of the last Harry Potter movie was not so magical. It was rather heartbreaking. Cast mates applauded one another, and burbled, and recalled their amazing time together and expressed grief that it was over. "How do I put into words such an incredible experience?" asks Emma Watson on a just-released Warner Brothers film of the Big Wrap. "I feel so blessed that I was chosen. I was given the chance to experience all this and have this be part of my life. We were the chosen ones. We were very lucky." More»

No. 6 opening weekend of all time

(AP) - Harry Potter has cast his biggest box-office spell yet with a franchise record $125.1 million domestically over opening weekend. In terms of revenue, that puts Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 ahead of the series' best previous debut of $102.7 million for 2005's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. But factoring in today's higher admission prices, the latest movie had roughly the same size audience as the franchise's best previous draws—Goblet of Fire and 2001's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Deathly Hallows and those two earlier movies each sold around 16 million tickets in their first weekend. More»

It's the first part of the two-part finale

(NEWSER) - American audiences have to wait another week, but the second-last installment of the Harry Potter movies premiered in London tonight. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I sets up the grand finale, which isn't out until July 2011. Not that reviews will mean a whit to devoted fans, but two early ones out of Britain are of the love-it/hate it variety:

• It's the "scariest" Potter film by far, writes Anita Singh in the Telegraph . "This is also the installment that takes us deepest into the emotions of the central trio" and includes "scenes of real poignancy." Details like self-filling champagne flutes are a "delight" as usual, and the special effects are "terrific." She can't wait for next July.