Potter Conjures Up More Magic At The Us Box Office

Boy wizard Harry Potter has at last achieved the near impossible - a $100 million (GBP55.5 million)-plus opening weekend in America.

The latest Potter film, HARRY POTTER + THE GOBLET OF FIRE, storms to the top of the US box office with a staggering $101.4 million (GBP56.3 million) three-day take.

The Goblet of Fire becomes the fourth-best three-day opening weekend ever, behind SPIDER-MAN, Star Wars: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH and Shrek 2.

The fourth Potter film is also the first of the franchise to earn a PG-13 rating for its fantasy violence and special effects, but that did not deter fans who turned up at cinemas in droves.

Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line debuts a distant second with a healthy $22.4 million (GBP12.4 million) weekend take.

The former box office topper, animated Disney film Chicken Little, drops to third on the new list with a $14.8 million (GBP8.2 million) take in its third week on release. The film has now made a total of $99.2 million (GBP55.1 million).