Though Harry Potter may be king of Hollywood at the moment, his reign won’t last for too long.

 ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,’ the final installment of the film series, set the opening weekend box office record. Its $169.2 million profit broke the $158.4 million record set by ‘The Dark Knight’ in July 2008.

 With the final entry of the Batman saga in the works, along with three other major films, the current record might last until next summer. These four anticipated movies may stand a chance at defeating The Boy Who Lived.

 

‘The Dark Knight Rises’ (July 20, 2012)

  ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ has potential to topple whatever the record might be at the time of its release. Not only did ‘The Dark Knight’ set the previous opening weekend record with $158 million, it even garnered an Academy Award for Heath Ledger’s performance. ‘Rises’ won’t have the luxury of marketing the riveting Joker, but it can play to its other strengths: director Christopher Nolan released sci-fi thriller ‘Inception,’ and star Christian Bale won an Oscar for ‘The Fighter.’ Anticipation will be at an all-time high, and the opening weekend gross just might become the new, perhaps unbreakable, industry benchmark.

 Projection: $175 million

 

‘Breaking Dawn: Part 2’ (November 16, 2012)

 The last ‘Twilight’ movie undoubtedly has profit potential. ‘New Moon,’ the second entry in the series, stunned the industry with a $142.8 million profit opening weekend, the third highest ever at the time. The most recent entry, ‘Eclipse,’ is the highest grossing in the series. Its obsessive fan base may help ‘Breaking Dawn: Part 2’ surpass the opening of ‘New Moon’ by $10 to $15 million, but the film may not quite reach the box office record set by ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2.’

 Projection: $154 million

 

‘The Avengers’ (May 4, 2012)

 What do you get when you combine Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and the Hulk? The answer may well be the most explosive opening the industry has ever seen. On their own, all four superheroes have proven to be major draws: ‘Iron Man 2’ opened to $128 million in 2010, ‘Thor’ and ‘Captain America’ both opened to $65 million this summer, and ‘The Incredible Hulk’ made off with $55 million in 2008. These superheroes all share the same audience, so the idea of seeing them all together will play a large role in attracting a wide audience

 Projection: $141 million

 

‘The Amazing Spider Man’ (July 3, 2012)

 In the land of superheroes, Spider-Man is still king: The first two ‘Spider-Man’ movies outperformed the most recent Batman flicks, and ‘Spider-Man 3’ set an opening weekend record that only ‘The Dark Knight’ could break. The 2012 incarnation, ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ may follow in the footsteps of its predecessors and enjoy an explosive opening.

 Projection: $93 million

smlittma@syr.edu

Published on July 28, 2011 at 12:00 pm