Top grossing movie franchises

Bill Sullivan — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 10:08:51 +0000

J.K. Rowling’s wildly successful Harry Potter book series is about to become the richest movie franchise of all time.

With more than $1.4 billion in U.S. box off receipts for the first five films, the Potter story trails only Star Wars ($2.2 billion) and the ageless James Bond series ($1.6 billion) in terms of total domestic receipts. By the time Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince finishes its theatrical run — it opened with a $158 million gross the first weekend — the Potter franchise will be well on its way to the top spot, with two installments left to go.

How have the first five Potter installments fared with the American theater-going public? Here’s the breakdown, according to Yahoo! Movies and boxofficemojo.com:

Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone
Release Date: November 16, 2001
U.S. Opening Weekend: $90,294,621
Final U.S. Gross: $317,575,550

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Release Date: November 15, 2002
U.S. Opening Weekend: $88,357,488
Final U.S. Gross: $261,988,482

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Release Date: June 4th, 2004
U.S. Opening Weekend: $93,687,367
Final U.S. Gross: $249,541,069

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Release Date: November 18th, 2005
U.S. Opening Weekend: $102,685,961
Final U.S. Gross: $290,013,036

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Release Date: July 11th, 2007
U.S. Opening Weekend (5-day): $139,715,157
Final U.S. Gross: $292,004,738

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Release Date: July 15, 2009
U.S. Opening Weekend (5-day): $158 million
Final Worldwide Gross: ??

To read about each film, and to learn about what’s left to come, visit Yahoo! Movies.

Actors who played 007

Bill Sullivan — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:21:21 +0000

Sean Connery felt he had outgrown the role. George Lazenby was a one-time wonder. Roger Moore became a bit long in the tooth to be taken seriously with all those beautiful young women.

Actors may come and go, but for more than 40 years, James Bond has been one of the silver screen’s most enduring characters. These days, the venerable franchise seems to be getting new life with Daniel Craig slipping into the title role.

With Craig about to make a second turn as Bond in the upcoming Quantum of Solace, here’s a list of the men who enjoyed a license to kill and liked their martinis “shaken, not stirred.”

Sean Connery – Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), Diamonds are Forever (1971), Never Say Never Again (1983)

George Lazenby — On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

Roger Moore — Live and Let Die (1973), The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Octopussy (1983) and A View to a Kill (1985)

Timothy Dalton — The Living Daylights (1987), License To Kill (1989)

Pierce Brosnan — Golden Eye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999), and Die Another Day (2002)

Daniel Craig — Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008)

Source: boston.com

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Top grossing movie franchises

Actors who played 007