Remembering the 6 Films That Opened Opposite Harry Potter

It's not often you see "poor Russell Crowe and Paul Haggis" written in a sentence, but there you go. Faced with the guaranteed blockbusting Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I (which grossed $24 million from its midnight screenings; a not-quite-Twilight-ian amount), Crowe and Haggis will likely see their thriller, The Next Three Days, fall by the wayside at the box office. Thankfully, though, they aren't alone in trying to scale Mt. Potter. Ahead, Movieline remembers the six other films that opened opposite the record-setting franchise.

Nov. 16-18, 2001

1.) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: $90 million (3,672 theaters)

8.) The Wash: $2.8 million (749 theaters)

Here's what you're thinking: What the hell is The Wash? Good question! It's the Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre movie that you never thought you wanted, from esteemed director DJ Pooh. Needless to say, filmgoers were hesitant to see such a cinematic masterpiece when there was a Harry Potter film playing next door. The Wash does succeed in being the type of "urban" counterprogramming maneuver studios like to toss out against major blockbusters every once in a while, but that didn't matter. You'll recall that Snoop's Soul Plane opened opposite The Day After Tomorrow in a similar to-the-wolves release in 2004.

Nov. 15-17, 2002

1.) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: $88.3 million (3,682 theaters)

5.) Half Past Dead: $7.8 million (2,113 theaters)

Speaking of urban! Ja Rule, Morris Chestnut and Steven Seagal starred in Half Past Dead, which featured music from DMX. Considering the dearth of ethnicity in the Harry Potter universe, this strategy wasn't without merits; unfortunately, it was without success. Fun fact: Half Past Dead was the last Seagal movie to get released into theaters before Machete; everything else went straight-to-DVD.

June 4-6, 2004

1.) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: $93.6 million (3,855 theaters)

58.) The Corporation: $28,671 (2 theaters)

The Prisoner of Azkaban -- which we've discussed -- scored the biggest opening weekend in the history of the franchise when it was released in 2004, but there were certainly flaws in that facade. For starters, nothing got released opposite Alfonso Cuaron's film, it premiered on the most theaters in franchise history, and still only out-ranked The Sorcerer's Stone by $3 million. No wonder it's the lowest grossing Potter film of the six domestically. For what it's worth: The Corporation was a Canadian documentary on corporations, which made sure to tap into that vast "summer moviegoers who like documentaries on corporations" audience.

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