The fifth Harry Potter film has worked its magic at Italian cinemas, beating its predecessors and becoming second only to the latest Spider-Man movie in Italy's all-time box office rankings for a single day's takings.
Showing on 731 screen up and down the peninsula, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix raked in just over two million euros on Wednesday, beating the box office record of 1.5 million set by its predecessor Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2005.
No.1 slot is still held, however, by Spider-Man 3 which took three million euros on its opening day in May.
Italian youngsters have embraced the Potter saga despite its extreme English-ness and appear to have no problems identifying with the characters, who draw on long traditions in British children's fiction.
Girls see themselves as Hermione (Harry's best friend, who always knows what's best for him) and boys naturally relate to the guy in the title role.
The six Harry Potter books have sold almost 7 million copies in Italy.
This is an unprecedented figure for children's fiction in a country where even successful kids' books usually sell in tens of thousands.
