Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One still holds the top spot at Friday’s box office.

The Warner Bros. movie earned about $23 million on Friday, beating its closest competitor, Disney’s Tangled, by a few million. The new animated 3D toon took the second position with about $19.7 million. Another 3D film chased it for the third place spot, earning about $6.3 million on Friday. Unstoppable made about $4.6 million while Burlesque, the new Cher and Christina Aguilera starrer, earned about $4.5 million.

Next, Love and Other Drugs collected about $3.8 million while Faster followed close behind in seventh place with about $3.2 million. Due Date took in about $2.8 million with The Next Three Days, earning about $2.3 million. Morning Glory finished at tenth with about $1.7 million.

The question is: will Harry Potter 7  or Tangled take the weekend box office? What do you think?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 took the box office horcrux taking a jump on Thanksgiving Weekend by grossing an estimated $14.5 million on Wednesday alone. Trailing far behind with long blond hair is Tangled, Disney’s 3D toon, with $11.6 million.

Burlesque danced and sang in third place, with an estimated $2.8 million followed by another 3D toon holdover Megamind, which took in about $2.7 million. In fourth place is Love and Other Drugs, with an estimated $2.5 million ahead of Unstoppable with $1.9 million and then Faster, an opener, raced at sixth place, grossing $1.6 million.

The domestic box office should slow down today, but will pick up Friday and continue to draw the bucks through Sunday.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 opening at the domestic B.O. was triumphant with a huge tally of an estimated $125.1 million, beating Harry’s previous top opener, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that tallied $102.7 million in November 2005.

Hallows also opened 239 domestic IMAX runs, which contributed to an estimated $12.4 million over the weekend. The IMAX runs of Hallows is the company’s biggest opening to date, surpassing Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, which debuted with $12.1 million.

Results:

1. Harry Potter…Deathly Hallows: Part 1
$125,100,000

2. Megamind
$16,200,000

3. Unstoppable
$13,100,000

4. Due Date
$9,200,000

5. The Next Three Days
$6,800,000

6. Morning Glory
$5,200,000

7. Skyline
$3,400,000

8. Red
$2,500,000

9. For Colored Girls
$2,400,000

10. Fair Game
$1,500,000

(Source)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 enchanted the movie goers and won Friday’s box office, earning an estimated $61.2 million that includes about $24 million from its midnight opening.

Way down in numbers with a 49% drop, in second place, is Unstoppable with about $4.075 million while not far behind is Megamind, earning about $3.7 million in third place. Due Date is next in line with an estimate of $2.9 while The Next Three Days collected about $2.2 million, rounding out the top five for Friday.

All in all, it looks like Mr. Potter and his friends (or enemies) are setting the pace for the 2010 holiday movie box office.

Harry Potter 7 Pt. 1 launched at 3,700 midnight runs that took in $24 million. The theater where I saw the 12:01am run had, according to an usher, 2,500 people attending one of many showings during the midnight run.

Overall, the movie screened at a record-setting 238 domestic IMAX screenings, contributing $1.4 million, which surpassed Warner Bros. previous $1 million midnight record holder The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. However, Hallows fell short of catching Eclipse’s $30 million late-night record.  

Attending a midnight run of a very popular movie is something to behold.  It is an electrifying experience that I’ll do again next July when HP7 Part 2 opens.

Unstoppable started the weekend box office with a drive that was not powerful enough to stay in the lead and beat Megamind. The poster “No You Can’t” is clearly an appropriate message to the second place winner.

However, both films shared a wealth of money with Due Date in third place and Skyline taking fourth place.  Morning Glory arrived in fifth rounding out the top five movies.

Results:

1. Megamind
$30,100,000

2. Unstoppable
$23,500,000

3. Due Date
$15,500,000

4. Skyline
$11,700,000

5. Morning Glory
$9,600,000

6. Red
$7,500,000

7. For Colored Girls
$6,800,000

8. Paranormal Activity 2
$3,100,000

9. Saw 3D
$2,800,000

10. Jackass 3D
$2,300,000

(Source)

Unstoppable is the top money maker for Friday’s box office with an estimated $8.1 million.  In second place and not far behind is the 3D animated feature Megamind bringing in about $7.9 million while Skyline brought in about $4.7 million.

Due Date earned about $5.5 million taking fourth place while Morning Glory collected about $3.1 million. In sixth place is For Colored Girls earning around $2 million.

Megamind had a mega box office draw on Friday bringing in about $12.5 million while leaving Due Date behind at second place with about $12 million. Still, it’s a close run between Will Ferrell/Brad Pitt and Robert Downey Jr./Zach Galifianakis movies. Come Sunday we will know which is the top movie.

The poetic For Colored Girls came in third with $7.4 million and Red came in fourth with SAW 3D in fifth as both brought in about $2.6 million.

Paranormal Activity 2 is active at sixth with about $2.34 million and Jackass 3D is still kicking with about $1.6 million. My favorite Secretariat grabbed eighth place $1.2 million and Hereafter took  about $1.1 million with The Social Network ending the top ten on Friday with about $1 million.

No surprises here, Jigsaw ruled the box office this weekend of Halloween. I am so sugared out with pizza on top of the 14 tiny little Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups I snagged from my daughter’s Trick or Treat bag that it totally makes sense that SAW 3D is the number one movie this weekend.

My favorite, Secretariat, is in sixth place, again. The racehorse movie has maintained that position for two weeks straight.

Results:

1. Saw 3D
$24,200,000

2. Paranormal Activity 2
$16,500,000

3. Red
$10,800,000

4. Jackass 3D
$8,400,000

5. Hereafter
$6,300,000

6. Secretariat
$5,100,000

7. The Social Network
$4,700,000

8. Life as We Know It
$4,000,000

9. The Town
$2,000,000

10. Conviction
$1,800,000

(Source)

I haven’t been reporting the weekly box office tally because my source wasn’t sending it to me on Fridays. So, I went and visited Variety and got the ball rolling again — no surprises.  Paranormal Activity 2 made the most money for the week with Jackass 3D, Red and Hereafter following behind, respectively.  It will be interesting when the tally comes in for today.  I wonder how well SAW 3D will do.

Results:

1) Paranormal Activity 2
    $49,157, 865 – $49.2

2) Jackass 3D
    $27,606,169 – $93.2

3) Red
    $19,610,525 – $48.1

4) Hereafter
    $15,526,113 – $15.8

5) The Social Network
    $9,375,123 – $75.0

6) Secretariat
    $9,260,238 – $39.7

7) Life As We Know It
    $8,012,458 – $39.5

8) Legend of The Guardians: Owls Of Ga’Hoole
    $3,918,793 – $50.9

9) The Town
    $3,719,083 – $85.7

10) Easy A
      $2,197,815 – $55.2

(Source)