Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Makes $1bn

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 has passed the $1bn  mark at the worldwide box office, distributor Warner Bros has said. The final instalment in the eight-part boy wizard series is the first to reach the milestone. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone had the previous best global takings with $974.8m  in 2001. The 2009 epic Avatar holds the current record for the biggest worldwide box office haul with $2.8bn
Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is expected to pass Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides soon, which is this year's top grossing movie so far at $1.03bn. But taking into account today's higher admission prices, Deathly Hallows: Part 2 has not yet caught up to Philosopher's Stone in terms of actual tickets sold.

Meanwhile, The Smurfs and sci-fi western Cowboys and Aliens tied for the number one spot at the North American box office, both taking $36.2m  according to early estimates.

NORTH AMERICAN BOX OFFICE
1 = Cowboys and Aliens - $36.2m
1 = The Smurfs - $36.2m
3. Captain America: The First Avenger - $24.9m
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 - $21.9m
5. Crazy, Stupid, Love - $19.3m

"In all my years, I've never really seen a race this close," said Paul Dergarabedian of box office analysts Hollywood.com.  "Generally, in the world of movie box office, $1 million is a close call, so to have two films in a dollar-to-dollar tie is somewhat unprecedented."

Cowboys and Aliens stars Daniel Craig as an amnesiac wanderer who teams with cattle baron Harrison Ford to take on hulking aliens that invade a town in the Old West.
The Smurfs sees the blue 1980s cartoon creatures brought to the big screen with a voice and live-action cast that includes Katy Perry and Neil Patrick Harris.