Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 smashes boxoffice records

The final Harry Potter film was set to smash box office records on both sides of the Atlantic this weekend after reports that US ticket sales on Friday were the biggest in the history of Hollywood.

In the final, climactic confrontation between the forces of good and evil in the world of wizardry, there was already one clear victor – the studio, Warner Bros.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 opened just after midnight on Friday in both Britain and America. It made more than £9 million in its first day in British cinemas, easily eclipsing the previous record of £5.9 million made by the first instalment of Deathly Hallows.

It will almost certainly overtake the British record for an opening weekend – also held by the first Deathly Hallows film, which earned £18.3 million in its first three days last November. The new film is expected to make more than £20 million over its opening weekend.

Deathly Hallows Part 2 is also on course to surpass the British box office record set by the film adaptation of the musical Mamma Mia!, starring Meryl Streep, which made £69 million throughout its run. In the US, the film took $43.5 million (£27 million) for midnight showings and an estimated further $40 million during the day on Friday. That put the total one-day earnings at more than $80 million, comfortably above the previous US one-day record, set by Twilight Saga: New Moon with $72 million.

Earnings were bolstered by higher ticket prices for the movie's 3D version. "Records will fly out of the window this weekend," a studio executive said. "All 3D theatres sold out to excellent reactions." In the US, there were predictions that the film – the eighth and last in the Harry Potter series – would earn $180 million by tonight, far exceeding the previous record for an opening three-day weekend, held by Dark Knight, the 2008 Batman movie, which grossed $158 million.

Even before this phenomenal opening, the first seven films based on the books by JK Rowling were the largest-grossing franchise in history, with worldwide box office takings of $6.4 billion. The film's premiere in London on July 7 drew crowds from around the world, with fans queuing for more than 24 hours in the rain to catch a glimpse of the film's stars, Daniel Radcliffe, a tearful Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint (all pictured above) at their final promotion of the franchise.

Josh Berger, the president and managing director of Warner Brothers UK, said: "This is completely unchartered territory. The books and films are so beloved and have such broad appeal. Because this is the final chapter, it seems to be attracting even more fans than ever before."