Record Harry lifts foreign film business

LOS ANGELES—Industry predictions that the final six weeks of the year would be massive at the overseas box office got a boost over the weekend as domestic champion “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” conjured up a record-setting $85.5 million kickoff.
And while the fourth of the “Harry Potter” series appears well on its way to surpassing the sales of prior film adaptations of the J.K. Rowling-penned family tomes, “The Chronciles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and “King Kong” are standing by for international blasts off in December.
With U.K. sales of $25.9 million, “Goblet” ranks as the industry’s biggest three-day opening weekend ever. The film also tallied $21.6 million in Germany, $7 million in Mexico and $3.6 million in Taiwan. The China bow of $4.1 million was the highest opening ever for a Warner Bros. film in the market.