PRESS ASSOCIATION -- The boy wizard has vanquished the dark knight and a band of pirates with a record-setting magic act at both the domestic and international box office.
Warner Bros estimates that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 took in 168.6 million dollars (£104.6 million) domestically from Friday to Sunday. That beats the previous best opening weekend of 158.4 million dollars (£98.3 million), also held by Warner Bros for 2008's Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight.
Overseas, the film added 307 million dollars (£190.4 million) in 59 countries since it began rolling out on Wednesday, topping the previous best international debut of 260.4 million dollars (£161.5 million) set in May by Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
International results for Deathly Hallows: Part 2 included record openings in Great Britain at 36.6 million dollars (£22.7 million) and Australia at 26.7 million dollars (£16.5 million), according to Warner Bros.
Worldwide, Deathly Hallows: Part 2 topped 475 million dollars (£294.6 million) in a matter of days, putting it on course to become the franchise's first billion-dollar worldwide hit.
"This will be the biggest 'Harry Potter' by far," said Dan Fellman, head of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. "A billion dollars is definitely going to happen."
The current franchise high is 974.8 million dollars (£604.5 million) worldwide for the first film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 10 years ago.
Deathly Hallows: Part 2 does have the advantage of 3-D screenings, which cost a few pounds more than 2-D shows. Because of the higher 3-D price, plus regular inflation, Deathly Hallows: Part 2 sold fewer tickets but took in more money than The Dark Knight over the opening weekend.
Overall domestic revenue for the weekend totalled 263 million dollars (£163.1 million), a record for a non-holiday weekend, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.
The Harry Potter finale also set a record for best opening day domestically on Friday with 92.1 million dollars (£57.1 million), nearly 20 million dollars (£12.4 million) ahead of the previous high for The Twilight Saga: New Moon two years ago.