Harry Potter cast a spell over moviegoers worldwide as the sixth entry in the fantasy franchise set a new opening record of $396.7
million, a clear sign that the lucrative franchise has lost none of its magic.

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" earned $159.7 million in the United States and Canada, the sixth-biggest opening for a five-day period, distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said on Sunday.

The international component stands at $237 million from 84 markets, also setting a new record.

The old records were held by "Spider-Man 3" in 2007 when its global bow of $381.7 million included foreign sales of $230.5 million.

In North America, the new film outpaced its predecessor, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," which opened to $139.7 million two years ago. That picture ended with $938 million worldwide, the seventh-biggest movie
of all time before accounting for inflation.

But while the five-day sum was impressive, it was dwarfed by the $200 million opening for "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" last month, which was just $3.8 million behind the record set last year by "The Dark Knight."

Top international markets for the new film
included Britain with $32.4 million, Germany with $23 million, France with $20.2 million and Japan with $18.2 million.

"We are thrilled with the record-setting international results this weekend, showing that Harry Potter's audiences continue to grow as the characters mature with every installment in the series," said Veronika Kwan-Rubinek, president of international distribution at the Time Warner Inc -owned studio.