New
York
(ANI):
harry
potter
and
the
Deathly
Hallows:
Part
I,
made
a
grand
opening
with
330
million
dollars
in
global
ticket
sales
over
the
weekend.
The
seventh
Potter
movie
generated
an
estimated
125.1
million
dollars
in
North
America
making
it
into
No.
1
there,
reports
the
New
York
Times.
It
was
the
second-biggest
domestic
opening
for
the
harry
potter
franchise;
adjusting
for
higher
ticket
prices,
harry
potter
and
the
Goblet
of
Fire
sold
127.4
million
dollars
over
its
first
three
days
in
November
2005.
The
strong
results
reflect
a
yearlong,
full-court
press
by
Warner"s
global
marketing
chief,
Sue
Kroll,
to
position
Deathly
Hallows
as
a
must-see
event
for
children
and
adults
alike.
The
advertising
campaign
played
up
the
sophisticated,
darker
elements
of
the
plot.
Harry
and
pals
are
now
grown
up,
for
instance,
and
the
good-versus-evil
battle
is
intensifying
as
the
story
line
reaches
its
climax.
The
marketing
materials
also
injected
some
edge
into
the
franchise
by
taking
risks
like
identifying
the
film
only
by
the
letters
HP7
and
splattering
posters
and
billboards
with
what
looked
like
blood;
one
poster
depicted
the
Hogwarts
castle
in
flames.
It
paid
off:
about
25
percent
of
the
North
American
audience
for
“Deathly
Hallows" was
in
the
18-to-34-year-old
demographic,
according
to
Dan
Fellman,
Warner"s
president
of
domestic
distribution.
Fellman
noted
that
“Deathly
Hallows,"
which
earned
positive
reviews,
beat
“Alice
in
Wonderland"
to
become
the
top
opening
movie
in
Imax
history.
“No
other
franchise
has
been
able
to
age
and
expand
the
audience
this
way,"
Fellman
said.