Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Box Office: One of Year’s Biggest Blockbusters

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie with Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint: Box office mega-hit.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix box office: Special-effects-laden summer release about to become one of year’s biggest hits

July 13–15 weekend box office: As expected, Warner Bros.’ special-effects-laden fantasy adventure Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was the no. 1 movie in North America (U.S. and Canada only), grossing a remarkable $77.1 million from 4,285 theaters according to final studio figures found at boxofficemojo.com.

It gets even more impressive: After five days, the fifth installment in the big-screen franchise based on J.K. Rowling’s book series has taken in $139.7 million. Budget: $150 million (as always, not including marketing and distribution expenses).

So, is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix the movie to beat this summer season?

In all fairness, not really.

After adding $37 million at no. 2 on the weekend box office chart, Michael Bay’s special-effects-laden actioner Transformers has raked in a total of $224 million in the U.S. and Canada since its July 2 debut. Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Rachael Taylor, and a bunch of mean-looking giant bots star.

Order of the Phoenix vs. Goblet of Fire & Prisoner of Azkaban

Now here are a couple of comparisons between Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and its most recent predecessors:

• Mike Newell’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire scored $119.7 million in its first five days out (Friday–Tuesday) in mid-November 2005, going on to gross $290 million domestically and $605.9 million internationally. Worldwide total: $895.9 million. Budget: $150 million.
• Alfonso Cuarón’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban drew in $109.4 million in its first five days (Friday–Tuesday) in early June 2004, going on to gross $249.5 million domestically and $546.1 million internationally. Worldwide total: $795.6 million. Budget: $130 million.

In the extensive Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Robert Pattinson, David Thewlis, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Gary Oldman, Maggie Smith, Julie Walters, Michael Gambon, Imelda Staunton, Fiona Shaw, Richard Griffiths, Jason Isaacs, Helena Bonham Carter, Warwick Davis, Geraldine Somerville, Brendan Gleeson, Tom Felton, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, and Natalia Tena, plus Timothy Spall in a cameo. David Yates directed.

Global mega-blockbuster – but short of the $1 billion milestone

Update: David Yates’ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ultimately collected $292 million domestically and $649.7 million internationally. Worldwide total: A whopping $941.7 million. Once various minor reissues (2018, 2020, 2021) are included, the global grand total reached $942.2 million.

Its top international markets (including reissues) were the United Kingdom/Ireland ($101.4 million), Japan ($80.6 million), Germany ($65.9 million), France ($51.8 million), Australia ($29.1 million), Italy ($26.4 million), Spain ($25 million), South Korea ($24.8 million), Mexico ($24.7 million), China ($19.4 million), Brazil ($17.5 million), Russia/CIS ($16.3 million), The Netherlands ($14.3 million), and Sweden ($10.4 million).

At the end of its run, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix became the second most popular Harry Potter movie worldwide, trailing only the first entry, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone ($974.8 million at the end of its original release).

“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Box Office” endnotes

Unless otherwise noted, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Box Office: One of Year’s Biggest Blockbusters” box office information via Box Office Mojo. Budget info – which should be taken with a grain of salt – via BOM and/or other sources (e.g., the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Screen Daily, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Deadline.com, etc.).

Comments about Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and other titles being hits/profitable or flops/money-losers at the box office (see paragraph below) are based on the available data about their production budget, additional marketing and distribution expenses (as a general rule of thumb, around 50 percent of the production cost), and worldwide gross (as a general rule of thumb when it comes to the Hollywood studios, around 50–55 percent of the domestic gross and 40 percent of the international gross goes to the distributing/producing companies).

Bear in mind that data regarding rebates, domestic/international sales/pre-sales, and other credits and/or contractual details that help to alleviate/split production costs and apportion revenues are oftentimes unavailable, and that reported international grosses may be incomplete (i.e., not every territory is fully – or even partially – accounted for).

Also bear in mind that ancillary revenues (domestic/global television rights, home video sales, streaming, merchandising, etc.) can represent anywhere between 40–70 percent of a movie’s total take. However, these revenues and their apportionment are only infrequently made public.

Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Daniel Radcliffe Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie image: Warner Bros.

“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Box Office: One of Year’s Biggest Blockbusters” last updated in October 2022.