Another Potter flick another dollar. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince muggled out the competition this weekend by taking in a massive $158 million over five days, as it opened on a Wednesday instead of a Friday. It made $77.8 million from Friday-Sunday. The film has received stellar reviews across the board, as well as on The Movie Mash, although that didn’t go over well with some (cough) “Potter Purists.” So it seems as though Warner Bros. got their 2009 money-maker after the box-office debacles that were Watchmen and Terminator Salvation. While this is undoubtedly a complete and utter victory for WB and Potter fans, with such anticipation, it still was unable to beat Transformers 2 and The Dark Knight in the five-day race, by a significant margin.

As mentioned in last week’s B.O.B. report, the box-office record for the first five days of a film’s release is $203.1 million, set last summer by my favorite film of all-time, The Dark Knight. Michael Bay’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which opened last month, seriously threatened that record by raking in close second $201 million in its first five days. Now this is where the analysis gets interesting. The sixth Harry Potter film, HP & THPB who’s release had been delayed six months, was only able to muster $158 over five days…In July. Hmmmmmm. Now there’s no knocking that feat, as it’s very impressive, or is it?

Batman Begins only made $205 million in total, during its domestic run. It’s sequel, The Dark Knight, ultimately shattered every box-office record imaginable and ended with $533 million, second all-time only to Titanic. Of course Begins had three years to build a solid fan base after being released on DVD. And obviously the Heath Ledger factor was a huge box-office draw, especially the buzz surrounding his legendary performance. But how did The Dark Knight make in three days, what HP 6 made in five? Doesn’t Harry Potter have the biggest fan-base ever? Is the Batman fan-base bigger than Harry Potter’s, or were the “Potter Purists” boycotting repeat viewings because of adaptation accuracy squabbles? Does Transformers have a bigger fan-base than Harry Potter’s, or were the “Potter Purists” telling their other “Potter Purist” friends not to go back a second time? IDK because I’m not a “Potter Purist.” I haven’t read the books, but I thought the movie was great and I really don’t give a shit. Regardless, I seriously don’t know what is preventing these films from shattering box-office records every time. So I’m asking, what is it?

I’m sure that this mild speculation, as well as the image above, is undoubtedly causing an uproar in traffic, so it felt like a required proposal. HAHAHAHAHA! Why So Serious? Anyway, as the Hogwarts brigade were waving their wands at the concession stands, the other competition at the box-office inevitably suffered. Ice Age 3 continues to perform well by taking in an impressive $17.5 million in its third weekend, coming in second and bringing its domestic total to just over $150 million. Transformers 2 also continues to impress in its fourth week by taking in $13.6 million, coming in third, and bringing it’s domestic total to a whopping $363 million. And as speculated in last week’s B.O.B. report, “Bruno ist Auschwitz.” With the combination of Harry Potter and (ironically and hypocritically) homo-phobes, Bruno plummeted in its second week with a pathetic $8.3 million. (All of these numbers are Friday-Sunday three-days). Ah well, I guess genius shouldn’t be measured in dollars and cents. Oh and I know that gay Potter reference will surely ruffle some feathers.

This week is going to get crowded as Potter nerds, families, couples on dates and horror fans will all be battling it out. I predict that Harry Potter 6 will be on top once again, dropping a healthy 50ish percent and taking in $75 million in its second week. Jerry Bruckheimer’s 3D animation guinea pig flick,(no pun intended) G-Force, will come in second with a solid $42 million. The Gerard Butler/Katherine Heigel rom-com The Ugly Truth will come in third with $28 million. The first legit horror film since Drag Me To Hell, Orphan, will unfortunately come in fourth with $18 million. And Ice Age 3 will round out the Top Five with $11 million in its fourth weekend. Challenge?

Here’s a breakdown of the rest of the Top 5 at the Box-Office this weekend. (All numbers are Friday-Sunday three-days).

CHAMP: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince $77.8 million
2) Ice Age 3 $17.5 million
3) Transformers 2 $13.6 million
4) Bruno $8.3 million
5) The Proposal $8.2 million

What Do You Think? Discuss.

GRADE: B

After 8 long months of waiting because Warner Bros. sucks, viewers and fans across the world finally got to see the sixth installment in the Potter movie series. The film opens as the WB shield of Warner Bros. quietly and eerily creeps its way into focus, perfectly giving a serious tone to this dark chapter in the Potter collection.

The movie cuts to Harry as the flash bulbs of the wizard paparazzi blaze in his face as he and Dumbledore are leaving the Ministry of Magic proceeding their battle with Voldemort and his Death Eaters at the end of The Order of the Phoenix.

I am sorry to anyone reading this who has not read the Potter books or seen the movies, but I am definitely not going to waste my time giving you a synopsis of the film. My only advice to you is to berate me in the comment section below, or go and read the books. Please…if you haven’t, READ THE BOOKS; they will change your life.

I really loved most of this movie and watching J.K. Rowling’s incredible words from the book brought to life. The most important thing as a reader of the books is to watch the films without comparing the pair to gauge the movie’s success. Although very difficult to do, it is necessary to be able to really enjoy the Potter films. While I myself have a very difficult time accomplishing this task, I tried not to let all the small changes annoy me so I could enjoy this newest Potter film. But in order to hold the movie to greatness, I will use the book to show some of the weaknesses in the movie.

This film featured much more humor than many of the previous Potter films. Not only did the film have humor, but it was good humor. I laughed a number of times throughout the film. Despite enjoying the comedy, at the same time, it felt a little out of place when used in excess. The movie needed the comedic side to change up the pace, but I felt there were too many laughs. The Half-Blood Prince needed more about the grim horizon that quickly approaches Harry and his friends. In order for people who only see the movies to understand this, Half-Blood Prince needed more about Horcruxes and Voldemort, and less about high school relationships and their pitfalls (just my opinion).

David Yates direction really brought the emotion of the characters to the forefront. As viewers, we could perceive the emotions the characters were going through. The acting in this film was much better than any of the previous Potter films. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint had the chemistry on screen that J.K. Rowling describes in the pages of her books. The supporting cast around the trio was stellar as well; especially the work of Helena Boham Carter playing Bellartrix Lestrange and Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy. The only actors that did not impress me were Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) and Ginny (Bonnie Wright).

If you haven’t seen the film or read the book and do not wish the ending to be revealed, skip to the last paragraph.

Gambon’s version of Dumbledore seemed cold and stern in the film, and not receptive to Harry and what was going on in his life (once again, going back to the book vs. movie topic). In the book, Harry has just lost his godfather Sirius, the only piece of family he had left. As Harry mourns the non-existence of his family, and Dumbledore prepares Harry for what is ahead of him, the two garner a close relationship throughout the story.

This is not conveyed whatsoever in the film (the fault of screenwriter Steve Kloves). In the book, Dumbledore becomes a fatherly figure for Harry, and in course their relationship flourishes. This is why Dumbledore’s murder by Snape is so devastating to the reading audience. Failure to detail this relationship makes Dumbledore’s death seem almost insignificant at the end of the film, even though it is by far the books lowest moment (low meaning depressing and uber significant).

No offense to you Michael Gambon, but Richard Harris was a WAY better Dumbledore than you are. For those that do not know, Richard Harris was the Headmaster in the first two Potter films, but then he died. Richard Harris was the perfect Dumbledore…why did he have to go and die??

As for Bonnie Wright, her portrayal of Ginny was stale. I never felt the chemistry between her and Harry, not even during their kiss. I mean, Ginny has loved Harry ever since the day she laid eyes on him, and even more since he saved her from the evil diary of Tom Riddle. I just did not get that feeling from Bonnie Wright’s portrayal.

The visuals and CGI in Half-Blood Prince were executed very well. They complimented the story being told in a manner that makes you focus on the events taking place and the characters in them as opposed to the grand effects. This film did not really bolster a lot of unreal magical scenes, but the use of technology to help best tell this tale was perfect.

However, the newest Potter film, like almost every Potter film before it, left me disappointed. Not that I was not happy with the final product, but the screenwriter Mr. Kloves failure to grasp some of the most important concepts in the book hurt the film in the end. Even though by saying this I am ignoring the advice I laid out at the beginning of this article, it is just too hard to downplay some of the glaring differences between the books and movies.

I have enjoyed every Potter film; but when writing the scripts for these films, it begs the question: Why mess with the perfection that is the books? I am not talking about leaving parts out, because obviously you have to condense a 672 page book to make a plausible movie script. The thing that bothers me is when Kloves changes things that J.K. Rowling has so perfectly already written. Small examples of Kloves’ moronic changes include: Harry standing below to watch Dumbledore die and No Death Eaters vs. Order standoff at Hogwarts.

For more on what pissed me off about Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, here is much more.

Overall, this newest chapter in the Potter series was another success. In my opinion it is the second best Potter of the movie series with The Prisoner of Azkaban fulfilling the top spot. The actors did an excellent job with the script they were given; especially the chemistry between our three main characters Ron, Harry, Herminone. The script for the most part was very good, but for some reason I cannot bring myself to get over all the things Mr. Kloves changed or left out. It felt like Kloves didn’t really understand the most important elements of the book Half-Blood Prince leaving “Potter Purists” wishing for much more. I would rate the movie higher strictly on a movie viewer basis, and rate it lower from the perspective as a “Potter Purist”.

What Should You Do? Definitely check it out the latest, but die-hard fans will feel cheated by some of the film’s content.