Harry Potter Casts Spell Over Record Number of U.S. Cinema-Goers

Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince has smashed U.S. box office records by raking in $22.2 million (£14.8 million) in less than 24 hours on Wednesday (15Jul09) to score the best midnight opening gross of all time.

The sixth movie in the boy wizard franchise easily topped The Dark Knight's midnight opening earnings of $18 million (£12 million) when it was released last summer (08), and the $17 million (£11.3 million) grossed by Star Wars Episode Iii - Revenge of the Sith in 2005.

The latest installment, which stars Daniel Radcliffe as Potter, even cast its spell over a record number of Potter fans - the new film drew moredevotees in its first few hours on show than 2007's Harry Potter and theOrder of the Phoenix, which took $12 million (£8 million) in its first day of release.

Wednesday's box office haul means director David Yates' big screen adaptation holds the title for biggest midnight draw of the year so far - Transformers Revenge of the Fallen took $16 million (£10.7 million) upon its first screenings in June (09).

And experts are predicting the Half-Blood Prince will topple the Transformers action sequel as the world's most popular film of the year, if opening figures are anything to go by - Revenge of the Fallen's 12 day totalstood at $600 million (£400 million).