"Harry Potter" Puts a Spell on the Box Office

The wand has paid off.

With only five days in theaters so far, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has raked in almost $160 million in North America alone, and for the three day weekend it made almost $80 million.

In comparison, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix opened on the same date two years ago, yet it only made $140 million.

Industry experts are surprised by its performance for a number of reasons. Many thought the Twilight craze would steal fans, or that interest would die down for the saga by the time it got to this 6th installment. Still, the franchise continues to do remarkably well.

Not doing so well however is the comedy shockfest, Bruno, which tanked after opening at number one. Sales dropped 73% in only its second weekend.

Other movies, like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ($364 million) and Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs ($150 million) continue their amazing runs. In all, they lead a successful cinema season that is currently at $6 billion in ticket sales.