Harry Potter breaks box office records

The bespectacled wizard contributes to an amazing weekend for UK cinemas.

Nov 24 2005

Harry Potter has inspired the United Kingdom to a record-breaking box office weekend.

'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' opened with a mammoth £14.9 million in its first three days, the most lucrative opening weekend in history.

The huge haul contributed to 3.8 million people visiting cinemas from Friday to Sunday, which also broke the record for total UK admissions.

That figure was helped by family films 'Nanny McPhee' and 'Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit' continuing to pull in the crowds.

And for the more mature moviegoer, adult fare like 'In Her Shoes', 'The Constant Gardener' and 'Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang' provided an entertaining alternative.

With the likes of 'King Kong' and 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' yet to hit screens this year, the UK buck the global trend and better last year's box office total.

• 
•